Published: Jan. 09, 2011
Words: 153896 (approximate)
Language: English

Ebook short description

28-year-old San Francisco native, Allie Taylor, at least thought she was human. But when she meets her first real seer, a race of human-like beings discovered in the 1900s, he tells her that not only is she a seer, like him, but that all the other seers believe she's going to end the world. Unfortunately, no matter what she does, everything that happens after that only seems to prove him right.

Extended description

Twenty-eight-year-old San Francisco native, Allie Taylor, at least thought she was human. Against a gritty and original backdrop of a modern-day Earth populated by a second race of beings, Allie is forced to deal with the fact that she's a member of an enslaved yet deeply powerful race, who believe her to be their most venerated leader, come to end the reign of humanity. With her guide, Revik, a mysterious and deadly seer who acts as her bodyguard and teacher, Allie is forced to come to grips with who she really is, or end up a slave like the rest of her kind...or worse, betray the very people she always thought of as her own.

*

Praise for Rook: Allie's War, Book One... (Read more) Twenty-eight-year-old San Francisco native, Allie Taylor, at least thought she was human. Against a gritty and original backdrop of a modern-day Earth populated by a second race of beings, Allie is forced to deal with the fact that she's a member of an enslaved yet deeply powerful race, who believe her to be their most venerated leader, come to end the reign of humanity. With her guide, Revik, a mysterious and deadly seer who acts as her bodyguard and teacher, Allie is forced to come to grips with who she really is, or end up a slave like the rest of her kind...or worse, betray the very people she always thought of as her own.

*

Praise for Rook: Allie's War, Book One

“…Andrijeski has created a fascinating world and an action-packed story; a version of the battle of good versus evil, and also attempts to tackle large concepts that people face daily…”

Diana Reed
Dreamtime Books

*

"Be forewarned, once you get started, you will be hooked on the series!”

Coral Russell
Alchemy of Scrawl Indie Reviews

*

“Rook starts out strong, pulls you into a vortex, and leaves your head spinning! While this paperback is 396 pages, I finished it in 24 hours, hardly wanting to put it down. There are so many levels to this story: Eastern religion and mythology, mind numbing technology, good versus evil, alternate existence, and even a powerful love story.”

"[S]uch strong chemistry between Allie and her guide, Revik, that it takes your breath away."

Charlene Mabie-Gable
Literary R&R

*

“The storyline is very original, as in the entire concept of the novel, and it’s filled with more backstabbing betrayal, twist and turns than I even thought possible…”

"...If you’re tired of reading fantasy novels with the same old concept over and over again, then you will definitely find Rook innovating, remarkable and highly entertaining. And even if you’re happy with the way most contemporary fantasy novels work nowadays, then I think you’ll still find Rook to be a very entertaining novel in the genre, and one of the most well-written ones. Don’t hesitate to read this book: it will definitely NOT disappoint you.”

Majanka Verstraete
I (heart) Reading
(Less)

Tags

romance, urban fantasy, world war ii, paranormal romance, apocalypse, love story, romantic, novel, war, end of the world, alternate history, contemporary fantasy, psychic, nazis, asia, alternative history, four horsemen, apocalyptic fiction, outsider, antihero, vancouver, urban fantasy romance, sff romance, romantic series

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Reviews

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Review by: Dobsew on Feb. 08, 2012 :
Rook is the introduction to a war between Seers and Humans. Seers are trying to empower humans and become the most powerful race in the modern world. Alyson Taylor who thought she was human soon discovers that she is anything but and when she is taught about the new world by her bodyguard and companion, Revik, she soon realises that she is more involved in the Seers' plans to destroy humanity that she thought possible. Seers see Allie as the bridge to lead them to win the war and none of them care what she will lose, not only her own humanity but the ones that she loves dearly.

This story is extremely complex and at times I found that the writing went too far into the descriptive and lost its way, this made me lose track of the story and at times found it confusing. This is why I can't give this more than three stars. Although the theme is compelling and has lots of potential, it isn't until the final third of the book that the story picks up momentum and is actually going somewhere. Due to so much emphasis on the Seers world I felt this retracted from getting to know the main characters and because of this, I couldn't feel compassion for them.

It is clear from how Rook ended that there is more to come and hopefully the following books concentrate on the telling the tale, have some adventure and let the reader get to really know the characters better.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Sherry Gillen on Feb. 01, 2012 :
I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. It was very well written. It was woven with details that kept you on the edge of your seat and fascinated with all it's details. I found it by accident, and am happy I did. I can't wait to read the rest of the series.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Zoe Saadia on Jan. 30, 2012 :
Two wonderful weeks spent in The Barrier.

I had wonderful time, spending the past two weeks in another world created by JC Andrijeski.

The story of Allie, who thought herself a regular human and whose destination pounced on her completely unexpected, hurled me into this colorful world of different rules of light and movement, a parallel world of beauty and danger.
Along with Allie, I got to discover this place that had nothing to do with anything she happened to experience and I happened to read before. Her discovery of herself, her struggle against it, her fight to survive and to keep her friends, and her newly discovered people from harm, are very powerful and gripping.
And while creating a wholly new world, JC Andrijeski had managed to populate it with plenty of very lively characters, who would not leave you indifferent. You care for those people as if you knew them for real. You worry about them, and at times they make you mad.

The love line of the story was amazing too, so subtle and beautifully presented!

I would recommend this book to anyone fond of a great, deep story. I would find it difficult to place this book into a certain genre category - science fiction, paranormal, plain historical, this book fits them all.

A highly recommended read!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Jessica Moss on Oct. 28, 2011 :
This book has had me hooked. I haven't been able to think of much else. J. C. has really made a complete world that parallels the world we all know. The Barrier such an interesting place. Her characters are diverse and flawed. I really like what the seers can do. There are many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I highly recommend this book.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Coral Russell on Aug. 25, 2011 : (no rating)
Listen/read my review here - http://alchemyofscrawl.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/book-review-rook-allies-war-book-one/
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Secret Fire Press on July 28, 2011 :
Rook: Allie's War, Book One introduces an epic fantasy world in which humanity is not alone--it shares the earth with a race of mysterious seers. An underground war that will change the face of the world and the fate of both races bursts to the surface and into the life of our heroine, Allie, who learns after a lifetime of believing herself to be human that she is a seer with a very special destiny.

With compelling characters in such a rich, fascinating re-imagining of our world, Rook: Allie's War, Book One offers a wild ride of a read.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: JJ Press on July 22, 2011 :
A sprawling epic fantasy, Rook introduces the reader to Allie, a young woman who learns that not only is she a member of the mysterious race of seers that populate the earth, she is special - a "bridge" that will somehow bring about war and the end of the world as we know it. Weaving an alternate history into the narritive, J. C. Andrijeski spins a tale that's hard to put down. I'm looking forward to the next book!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Twisted Root Publishing on July 19, 2011 : (no rating)
Siddhartha meets The Matrix in this complicated Fantasy of a young woman who might presage the third destruction of the world. The author does a superb job of building a universe just slightly different than our own, where holy men and street people are actually representatives of a race of Seers who live amidst humans and are owned by them. The language and setting are beautifully rendered so that I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more J.C. Andrijeski.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Fiero Publishing on July 18, 2011 :
This is the first book of a cool new series that creates a fully-fleshed-out alternate Earth with mind-blowing myths, physical and spiritual laws so that the reader can invest and believe in the characters and events. The concepts of creatures living dual lives simultaneously in both the physical and non-physical (kind of) realms is complicated but there's so much fast action and emotional conflict that you get dragged through the tough bits, confident it will all make sense eventually. It's a big world, and while Book One has a satisfying conclusion, you just know there's a whole lot more to explore.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: M L Sawyer on May 27, 2011 :
Rook, Allie’s War: Book one by J C Andrijeski is an interesting tale. Set in an alternate reality future, this is a world that has grown up with two species – humans and seers. Seers have the ability to read minds among other things and their lives are strictly controlled by the government. Allie is a not so ordinary waitress – currently wearing a tracking bracelet for violence committed against her ex boyfriends new partner. She also has the uncanny ability to attract strange people, stalkers of all shapes and descriptions.

From working in the diner she is soon transported into a world of intrigue, action and violence. The Seer world is completely different to what the majority of the human population has been lead to believe and even more shocking… she is one of them.

I started reading this book and soon found that I could not put it down. The action is well written, the characters fairly unique in their personalities and the alternate world is portrayed in great detail. It has been some time since I have been dragged into a tale so fully that all I want to do is keep reading. A few downfalls for me though were the occasional long descriptions of the barrier and the alternate world of light. I found myself almost skipping through these at times to get back into the story. The very occasional word missing / grammatical issue made me pause in some points of the story but other than that it is a fantastic read.

J C Andrijeski can be found at www.jcandrijeski.com and this book can be purchased from www.smashwords.com A highly recommended story well worth the purchase!

To view this review and more http://mlsawyer.weebly.com/blog.html
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: L.A. (Escape From) Reviewer on Jan. 18, 2011 :
Rook takes place in an exciting and intriguing alternate history, where humanity shares the globe with another, recently discovered species: the Sarhacienne, or 'Sarks'. Sarks look human, but come with extra-ordinary abilities similar to astral travel, second sight, and mental domination.

Of course, these extra abilities made them useful to the vastly more numerous humans: after being used as living weapons in WWI, Sarks are a downtrodden race, forced to wear power-nullifying collars or otherwise existing in a state of near slavery.

In this dark future, 28-yer old Allie becomes tangled in a seething web of intrigue. Ripped from her quiet life in San Francisco by Revik, a deep-cover Sark agent, she is hunted as an outlaw by her fellow humans, sought after as the ultimate weapon by a one group of Sarks, and seen as the Christ-figure for another.

Which role she may play for human and Sark remains to be seen throughout the pulse-pounding, often touching adventure of Rook.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Tamela Viglione on Jan. 12, 2011 :
Buckle your seat belt, hold on to the bar, and get set for an exciting ride - this one is intense! And addictive, too. I found myself completely drawn in on multiple levels, and sitting on the edge of my seat to find out the fates not just of the people in this vividly rendered alternate modern world, but the world itself. Is former barrista-girl Allie a destroyer or a savior? And when it comes to that, of who –- or what? JC Andrijeski tackles big concepts in an engaging manner in this story of a young woman who just wants to do the right thing (and not accidentally end the world) in the face of some extraordinary challenges: one of them being a truly terrifying adversary who would make Hannibal Lecter want to hide under the bed, and another being a compelling but potentially destructive romantic connection with a seer who may – or may not – be trying to help her.

Rook, the first installment of the Allie's War saga, has much to offer. Fans will undoubtedly look forward to more. ~Tamela Viglione
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Review by: Irene Watts on Jan. 12, 2011 :
Action-packed apocalyptic Alice Through the Looking Glass.
Rook moves through an alien and militaristic chess match
at an exciting clip without glossing the depth and pathos
of its players. Andrijeski has brought us a timely and epic
vision of the battle between good and evil. ~Irene Watts, Author
(reviewed the day of purchase)

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