Find the Author: Website, GoodreadsShayara Ventii, human bounty hunter sponsored by the galactic senate, is travelling through the galaxy with the crew of her small ship when she comes across something that will change her life forever. Not only will it shape her future, but the future of every living thing in the galaxy. She quickly finds it hard to distinguish friend from foe as humanity tries to forefront the response to this new threat. Old tensions resurface as people begin to die and civilisation itself becomes threatened. How far will some be willing to go to save themselves?
Pariahs and Peacemakers is the debut novel from writer, James S. Bowers. It is a rich tale told from the perspective of multiple characters, each with their own unique view and problems in the universe he has created for them.
Most of the time I read a book because it is going to entertain me, and when I am finished I feel entertained and I can go on to the next one. There have been a few books however that stay with me long after I am done with them. It could be because it was just that awesome that I can’t get over it. Other times it has been because it has struck a cord deep in me that for whatever reason I may not have known it existed. The third and not by far the last way that a book stays with me is what the content is, I don’t mean that it was amazing or that the plot was so unique that I couldn’t turn away, I mean the plot and the story and the characters are entrenched in something that resonates with me in such a way that I can’t let go. This is one of those books.
Shayara Ventii is a bounty hunter, and she is human. I am sure you are thinking, well duh she is human. In this book however, you have to pay close attention to what species each person is, because species relations are very important. What are species relations, well in this book there are four main species or alien factions, including humans. Well technically there are five but we will get to that one later. Anyways these four don’t always see eye to eye and with humans being the youngest living, and youngest to the party, there are alot of secrets and half truths that are being thrown around. Shayara by happenstance gets thrown into the middle of these secrets and half truths and has to think quick if she is going to keep her comrades alive.
Oh did I tell that there was this evil alien species which were supposed to have been wiped out weren’t, and they start attacking specific areas, AND there are pirates. Yeah in this book there are honest to goodness space pirates. Oh and factions within species that are hell bent on undermining everything that the original creators of the capital city wanted, which was peace among the four aliens. Again that 5th one is kind of an afterthought. Well or they thought :).
This book has social issues, starting with civil war, upheaval, racial tensions (or are they specie tensions) and a kick ass lead character. I could not want anything more from a book. Oh well I kinda want a second one because it doesn’t end, I mean of course it ends, it isn’t a cliff hanger in the traditional sense, but there is a lot more that I want to know about what is going on with the main characters, with the pirates, with the bad guys, and what is going to happen to Atlas. UGH so many things and even though it was 330 pages, I am still left wondering if Shayara is going to hook up with her best buddy. What? who is to say there can’t be a little love among all the people dying. Oh that is one thing that you should be aware of, the author has no qualms with killing people off, it isn’t George RR Martin, but there is a lot of death.
So overall this is a really good book and you want a somewhat, I mean come on it is 330 pages, read then look this one up. It is worth it, and once you start reading it is really hard to put down, but alas I had to because 1) I was done and 2) I have other books to read.
About James S. Bowers
James Bowers became interested in storytelling through video games like Halo and Mass Effect. He loved the rich universes and characters they offered and he had a soft spot for the genre, writing his own content since age nine. At sixteen he began to work on his debut novel. It would take five years to finish it, working on it off and on but in late 2013 he released his first book in between all that chaos. It was an anthology of short stories entitled Mechanical Heart. A few months later at the start of 2014 he released a second book collecting the chapters of a blog he was keeping, a fantasy narrative influenced by Skyrim and A Song of Ice and Fire which was entitled Fables From Thorweyr. This proved popular and was the first small level success James had enjoyed in his writing career. In mid 2014 James completed his debut novel, Pariahs and Peacemakers, and sent it to a professional editor and proof reader. He is currently awaiting a response from several publishers. Realising the time frame of five years was unacceptable for a novel, he endeavoured to write a thousand words a day and has already written a second novel in just four months. The story is in the survival horror genre but it is also hugely grounded in science fiction.
Seeing the gap in the market, James founded Glass Sword in mid 2014 to connect to like minded people that shared love for story and plot. He hopes to create a self sustaining community site as vibrant as the worlds he helps build. An ambitious project for sure but one he is utterly passionate about. As a huge fan of Rooster Teeth, he has seen how a hobby can become a career. He too wishes to achieve this dream.
