May BOTM - Featured Review: Save the Last Bullet for God

Please use this forum to discuss historical fiction books. Common definitions define historical fiction as novels written at least 25-50 years after the book's setting.
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revna01
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Re: May BOTM - Featured Review: Save the Last Bullet for God

Post by revna01 »

What an unusual concept for a book. I definitely don't enjoy blood and guts, so this read is off the table for me. A science fiction that takes historical figures and jumps around in its timeline, giving each person a task to kill God. Not my type of book, but congrats to the author anyway. Great review.
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Post by Lisa A Rayburn »

When I read the sample on Amazon, I found myself comparing it to trying to understand the way Dr. Who lives "backwards" while River Song lives in our linear time. I definitely agree that it's difficult following the reverse timeline. Still, I'm a die-hard sci-fi fan from way back and found the time-shift and paranormal aspects very intriguing. I may just have to check this one out!
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Post by P Reefer »

This book sure sounds complicated based on your review. it sounds like fans of this genre will have a blast with this thought-provoking novel.
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Post by graceful-1 »

I read the sample of the book, Save The Last Bullet For God by JT Alblood, and I have to say, I was confused! But reading your review helped clear everything up and I thought you did an excellent job explaining the story. I can see for people who enjoy this genre, will love the book and the challenge it provides. Also, I love that you said the lesson is learned in the very last line. Way to keep you hooked - Great job by all!
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Post by read+er »

This book sound interesting , but not one I would go for. The intellectual take on it didn't get my attention. The reviewer did a good job.
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Post by Chelsy Scherba »

This book sounds fascinating and makes me curious about the philosophy of the characters. I’m intrigued enough to check it out.
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Post by Samy Lax »

What a novel way to present concepts that seem to be unbelievable with respect to the reality today but could be believable in the near future. This surely goes to my list of to-be-read books.
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Post by Olaoluwa_oso »

The title of the book really confused me at first. I was much relieved when i read that it was not a attack on any religious faith. But I'll pass on reading this book due to the graphic scenes. Good review on a some-what difficult read.
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Post by ShailaSheshadri »

Thanks for the insightful review. Looks like Save the Last Bullet for God is similar to a science fiction. Good to know the plot includes many famous historical figures. Though the secret mission in the story is Kill God, the story doesn't include any religion. Congrats to the author for penning the complex plot so thoughtfully!
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Post by NuelUkah »

rachel_jacks wrote: 18 Dec 2015, 09:25 [Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Save the Last Bullet for God" by JT Alblood.]
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4 out of 4 stars
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Save the Last Bullet for God by JT Alblood is intellectually challenging and makes the reader question the reality of the life that we all know. When I picked up this book, I thought I was going to be reading about a secret military mission that took place during World War II. I was wrong. The simple version is this: the reader is taken on a journey through time across the lives of many well known historical figures to learn about a complex operation that was created with a single mission. Kill God. This operation challenges every preconceived idea that humans have about how the world works and incorporates aliens, occult societies, secret codes, and human biology/psychology.

Although this story is a journey across time, it is not written chronologically. Each section of the story is clearly identified but, it can still be hard to follow the jumps in time. Often, the time jumps are accompanied by a change in perspective or character. It was not difficult to reorient myself as I read but, the flow of the story was broken by these sudden changes.

Alblood has a natural talent for writing, which makes it easy to read his work. At the same time, he is very intellectual and the concepts presented in this book are above average intelligence. This book is perfect for a reader that likes stimulating material and can follow complex ideas. I would strongly encourage any science fiction fan to check out this book. This book pulls together the nerdiest of the nerds with the in-depth discussions involving psychology, physics, astronomy, history, and more. While the mission is to kill God, I can't say I would discourage people of faith from reading this book. It is not an attack on Christianity or any religion in general. There are overly graphic scenes described, so I would discourage anyone from reading that can't handle blood and guts.

While the story does involve actual historical events, much of what takes place is not believable. I am going to use that word ("believable") for a reason. The secret operation that underlies the entire plot for this story involves viewing life from an entirely new perspective. The ability to accept this concept is limited by the knowledge and understanding that humans possess at this time. Therefore, this story is not believable in relation to the reality we know today but, could be believable in the future.

I am still trying to wrap my head around the lesson that was taught in this book. I truly believe that it can only be learned through reading. There was a point, about halfway through, when a dramatic twist took place. I anticipated that was the end of the story. The second half of the story was when things got weird. The lesson is not learned until the last sentence. Understanding the entire story is paramount to understanding the lesson.

The hardest part of this review was deciding on a rating. I feel that the story could be improved by some minor revisions in sequencing. This would improve the rhythm and flow of the entire story and make it easier to follow. However, it would not detract from the complexity of the whole. Since that is the only "flaw" I found in this complex, intellectual piece I feel that Save the Last Bullet for God by JT Alblood has earned 4 out of 4 stars.

******
Save the Last Bullet for God
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A journey through time that questions the reality of life. An intellectual read for strong minded people.
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Post by _Delly_01 »

Gosh. If it's really that open-minded and requires full concentration, imagine how hard it must have been for the author to write to begin with! It is incredible to think how organised the author had to have been with their writing to convey these complex ideas. It deeply intrigues me, but unfortunately, I'm not a very patient reader, or highly intellectual, so I feel this book might not be enjoyable for me.

Thank you for your in-depth and engaging review.
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Post by gogumahikari »

I am a fan of science fiction and I like the idea of using time jumps to present a historical narrative. The writer's skill in handling complex subject matter in this book is also another reason why I will give this book a try. I particularly appreciated your efforts to avoid giving spoilers in your review since the book seems to be quite heavily dependent on plot twists to engage its readers. Thank you for the great review!
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Post by Nerea »

Though am a historical fiction fan, I don't think I will read this book for the reason that it contains graphic scenes and that the concept of the story doesn't interest me. Thank you for your honest review.
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Post by Rocketforth »

Great review!! I have a question though. Is the perspective of the characters and the revision of historical events believable within the context of the story even if it’s unbelievable in the real world?
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Post by Ashiyya Tariq »

The book sounds intriguing with complex intellectual ideas. I don't think this book is for me as I am not interested in weird ideas. Great review.
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