Word Refiner
  • Start Here
  • Word Refining
  • Learn More
  • Books I Have Refined
  • Promote Your Book
  • Acclaim from Authors
  • Book Reviews
  • Previous Book Reviews
  • Boomers on Books
  • Blog: Words For Thought
  • Highly Regarded Blogs
  • Guest Blogs
  • Contact
  • Hyper-Speller Humor
  • The Hyper-Speller interviewed
  • In memory of Grizz
  • Start Here
  • Word Refining
  • Learn More
  • Books I Have Refined
  • Promote Your Book
  • Acclaim from Authors
  • Book Reviews
  • Previous Book Reviews
  • Boomers on Books
  • Blog: Words For Thought
  • Highly Regarded Blogs
  • Guest Blogs
  • Contact
  • Hyper-Speller Humor
  • The Hyper-Speller interviewed
  • In memory of Grizz

​book reviews

Descent Into Mayhem                                  (Capicua Chronicles Book 1)                                         By Bruno Goncalves

9/19/2015

0 Comments

 
Multi-volume author, Bruno Goncalves introduces us to the first of a series, “Descent Into Mayhem”:
After two hundred years of isolated existence, the colonists of Capicua, a fertile super-earth orbiting Gliese 667C, find themselves confronted with a newly arrived paramilitary force aiming to impose annexation through force of arms. 
Oblivious to the impending invasion, Toni Miura joins Capicua’s decrepit armed forces in a bid to escape domestic troubles, aiming for the privilege of driving the Hammerhead, a bipedal armored suit which is the epitome of his planet´s ailing warrior spirit. 
With the arrival of the earthborn raiders, Toni’s unqualified platoon, brimming with misfits and plagued by internal differences, finds itself suddenly thrown into the midst of battle. Abandoned by their seniors in the course of their mission, Toni and the remnants of his unit become lost in the wilderness of a world which, owing to the nature of its orbit, suffers periodically from planet-wide hurricane conditions. 
So begins a race against time, where a handful of cadets will be forced to outmaneuver a pursuing enemy in the boondocks of a turbulent planet, all the while seeking to deliver an odd but important Bavarian prisoner-of-war to their Headquarters.

Picture
I read the story and found it quite appealing. Having a background in military service and construction, and being an avid fan of Sci/Fi this book was tailor-made for me. I derived a lot of satisfaction in the story, easily relating to Toni and his troubles both internal and external. Bruno gives great descriptions of the military emplacements and their construction; the mechanisms of the walking battle suits, weapons and tactics; and the difficulties inherent to the world of Capicua. 
This is also one of the problems of the book, the balance between necessary background information and the actions of the characters, including dialogues, is tilted too heavily away from the characters and their interactions. 
While we are talking about balance, the story is heavily weighted in the favor of Toni; there is far less story about Kaiser, who he meets on the battlefield over halfway through the book, it seemed like two separate stories unlikely to clash until they finally engaged in combat.
The book opens with an interesting prologue of a tired warrior on the battlefield. Set about 20 years before the story of Toni, I failed to see the significance to his story. While good in and of itself, the prologue did not seem to relate, and therefore seemed unnecessary.
I came across some unusual words that sent me to the dictionary. Bruno used the words without explanation which leaves the reader to struggle with the meaning, I think an improvement is needed in this area because it detracts from the pleasure of a good story.
The reader has to do some work to fully appreciate the story. Bruno could have made it much easier, allowing the reader to stay within the world of Capicua.
Bruno has a really good story here, but it has a lot of rough edges and some structural defects. I rate this book 3.5 stars of 5. 

Picture
You can buy this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Descent Into Mayhem
https://www.goodreads.com/-descent-into-mayhem
 
You can follow the author:
https://twitter.com/IntoMayhem
https://brunogoncalvesauthor.wordpress.com/
 
Copyright © 2015 Mark L. Schultz except for the author’s introduction 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Who am I?

    An avid reader, typobuster, and the Hyper-Speller.  I am a husband, father, and grandfather.

    Contact

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

"I'm very pleased with all your efforts. Twitter promotion and proofreading were beyond what I expected with a book review. Your suggestions throughout the process of refining both books helped me immensely. I look forward to working with you again."   A.E.H Veenman “Dial QR for Murder” and “Prepped for the Kill”