|
Summarized Reviews
and Testimonials
Summarized reviews are shown for each
title listed below. Complete reviews for some of
the author's novels can be found at:
http://www.epinions.com.
Search for Robert Gallinger,
using book category.
|
|
|
Epinions.com Review:
No Time to Die
Someone wanted Walter
dead in No Time to Die
epinions/com ID:
dragonfire88
Author's product
rating: Four
Stars
The bottom line: No
Time to Die was different from most books that
I have read, but I did enjoy it.
Walter and Karen Lewis
had been married for more than thirty years. They
were currently living in Spanish Fort, Alabama.
Walter was retired from the army. He has served in
Vietnam. Karen had worked as a nurse during
Vietnam, which is how the two met. Walter now
interpreted dreams for people. For years he and
Karen moved around a lot. Someone was following
them. Walter always realized when the people
following him were getting close and then he and
Karen moved.
Walter was running
some errands when he felt danger. He noticed a car
with three men in the next lane. One of the men
held up a sign with the message “Your Time to
Die” on it. Walter was very upset by that. He
knew the men were getting close and that there
would be a confrontation soon. He and Karen
wouldn't be running this time. The year before
Karen had suffered a stroke. She was confined to
bed and could no longer talk. Walter made her a
gadget that enabled her to communicate. It could
also set off Walter's pager or call 911.
Walter had a new
client one morning. He worked out of an office in
his garage. His new client was a young man that was
wearing a disguise. He seemed to be uncomfortable
and made up an excuse to leave. Walter didn't seem
suspicious about the disguise or the way the man
was acting. Walter stayed in his office for a
while. During that time he had a flashback to
Vietnam when he was wounded. Once it was over, he
had a feeling that Karen was in danger. He headed
for the house but never made it.
Walter had a heart
attack and ended up in the hospital. Karen was also
taken in. Two police officers, Stephen and Marie,
were talking to Walter. They told him that someone
had called in a report of a fire at his house.
Karen's device had been disabled and there was a
note left on her night stand. Walter told Stephen
and Karen about the three men and the note. Stephen
and Marie were trying to find out who had been in
Walter and Karen's house. Walter suffered
complications and Karen slipped into a coma. Walter
kept remembering things from Vietnam.
Stephen and Marie kept
investigating to try to find the men who were
leaving the notes for Walter. Some strange things
happened. Walter kept remembering things from his
time in Vietnam.
The plot of No Time
to Die was interesting, and I did want to find
out what would happen with Karen and Walter. I kept
reading until I finished the book even though I was
tired. I wasn't expecting so much of the book to be
a flashback. I was a little disappointed by that,
but I still enjoyed the book. I wasn't as
interested in the parts that were set in Vietnam,
but I wasn't really bored by them. The book was
descriptive. Some things were described in greater
detail than others. There was violence in some
parts of the book that took place during Vietnam.
It wasn't extremely explicit, but it was a bit too
detailed for me at times. I have no idea how
accurate the parts dealing with army life and
Vietnam were, but I think they were probably
accurate since the author is retired from the
army.
When No Time to
Die began, Walter and Karen had been married
for more than thirty years. When the flashbacks
started, one of them showed how the two of them
first met. The next flashback took place weeks
later when Walter was going to be released for
active duty. Their relationship had changed by
then. The evolution of the relationship wasn't
shown. They got married and were able to spend some
time alone together during other flashbacks. There
were a few sex scenes in the book, but they weren't
very descriptive. Most of what happened was left to
the reader's imagination. I don't think those
scenes would offend anyone.
CHARACTERS
Walter Lewis - A man
retired from the army. He worked out of an office
in his garage helping people explain their dreams.
He had been followed for years by someone and he
was worried time was up. He was worried he wouldn't
be able to protect his wife.
Karen - Walter's wife.
She was a nurse with the Red Cross during Vietnam.
She took care of Walter when he was wounded. She
had to deal with a lot during that time, including
being attacked more than once. Karen was confined
to her bed now because of a stroke.
Stephen and Marie -
Police officers who were investigating trying to
find the men that entered Walter's house. The two
seemed to be friends. They seemed to like Walter
and Karen and wanted to find out who left the
notes.
No Time to Die
was different from the books I usually read, but I
did enjoy it. People who like to read about wars
may also enjoy it.
Recommended
Yes
Testimonials for No
Time to Die:
1. “Definitely a
good read! Having served in Viet Nam, your
characters and descriptive settings rang true. The
action-filled plot kept me turning the pages. My
only disappointment was when the story ended. Are
you planning a sequel? I will be waiting to read
it!”
Oct 8, 2000.
Signed Jim Klar,
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Retired
2. “Thanks for
the advanced copy of “No Time to Die”
that you sent me for a read. And what a read it
was. You certainly conjured up an exciting tale of
suspense and everlasting love for your readers. It
kept me glued to every page during the peacetime
scenes as well as the flashbacks to Viet Nam.
Please don't stop writing now. Keep the books
coming.”
Oct 1, 2000.
Signed Dorle McQueen,
an avid reader of suspense and love stories
complicated by war.
3. “I loved your
suspense novel, No Time to Die. I especially
enjoyed the way in which you incorporated a good
deal of love between Walter and his wife, Karen,
throughout the book. There was no doubt that they
shared a boundless love despite the many hardships
they faced trying to run from the past, themselves
and the terrible war in Viet Nam.
"The novel has many
twists and turns that kept me guessing, especially
the scenes that repeatedly placed Walter's and
Karen's lives in extreme jeopardy while they were
on the run, trying to hide from the ones stalking
them with ugly thoughts of only one thing: Revenge
for alleged events from the past!
"You moved your
characters effortlessly back and forth in time,
using old secrets to heighten the suspense and
intrigue surrounding them. Overall, I found No
Time to Die an absorbing suspense that kept me
turning the pages, wondering who would survive and
who would not. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read
that I enjoyed immensely."
Sept 27, 2000.
Signed Chris H. Tuton,
a reader waiting for your next book.
|
Epinions.com Review: Suffer
the Fool
Lift a rock and here's what
you'll find
epinions.com ID: kcfoxy
|
Apr 15 '04
Authors Product Rating: Four
Stars
PROS: Dialog and
action sequences
CONS: Description lags
a bit at first
Bottom Line:
Interesting storyline and engaging rural cast bump
this one above average; an entertaining
read.
The story opens with
an unseen arsonist and hit man savoring his latest
work. As an old farm burns to the ground, there's
satisfaction expressed over the awful deaths of the
elderly couple, caught unawares, then burnt to the
point autopsies will be necessary to identify the
blackened remains.
Here Gallinger's story
line reels us in while his prose has that slightly
flat, self-conscious style that hopefully soon will
be submerged with the plot-driven tale. Luckily for
the reader, it is, and soon a handful of
interestingly flawed characters take center
stage.
A number of
inter-related story lines thrum independently at
first, and then increasingly intersect as the
central plot takes shape and gels. Nefarious land
grabs, reluctant property owners, shocking murders
and strong-arm tactics, and behind it all, a nest
of arachnoid wheelers and dealers in smoke filled
rooms enact their own spin on the Elks'
Club.
Gallinger offers up a
decent story line, mostly believable characters,
(think Dukes of Heat Of The Night, with shades of
Billy Bob's own Sling Blade), and realistic
dialog.
I enjoyed this book,
especially the realistic action sequences and
glimpses of small town life. Enjoyable too, is the
sort of cat and mouse adversarial games between one
dedicated FBI agent and his prey who incidentally
murdered the Fibbie's parents in that harrowing
opening scene detailed above.
That the author avoids
formulaic devices, (the hero always wins, the
fiendish killer never does anything wrong, the bad
guys are always 100% evil), and can offer up tasty
bits of psychological insight and parallels, help
to flesh out what could have been a 2 dimensional
story line.
Fortunately, Gallinger
brings to the tale, what he knows. Pacing and sense
of place doesn't leave the reader squirming and I
can give this self-published novel, one of many for
this retired military marvel, a thumb's up.
Thanks, Robert, for
this opportunity to review your novel. It was a
positive experience and helped me while away the
hours of an otherwise dull weekend.
Recommended
Yes
Scribesworld Review
of Suffer the Fool
December
2001
In this novel of
suspense, a man still suffering over the loss of
his only son five years earlier conjures up a plot
to gain forgiveness for what he sees as his sins.
David Maloney's behavior since his son's death has
given his wife, Gail, good reason to fear for his
sanity. Now he manages to convince his best friend,
Harvey, to allow David to fake his gruesome death.
David is certain that by being arrested and
convicted of his friend's grisly murder that he
will gain fame and fortune after he is eventually
released. He plans to write a book to tell the
whole story.
But Suffer the
Fool is full of twists, turns and subplots. The
FBI is busy investigating a series of fires, some
of which that have been fatal, the small Southern
town is packed with greedy folks eager to make a
pile of money and then run, and David's own plot is
at jeopardy due to all of the action. No one knows,
including the FBI, who are the good guys and who
might have gone over to the other side.
As a debut novel, Mr.
Gallinger has the ability to weave an entertaining
story. I found Suffer the Fool to be a quick
read, with an equal number of sympathetic
characters and those who you'd never want to meet
in real life. His bad guy is as bad as they get and
no one is really too good to be true. I look
forward to reading Mr. Gallinger's next
novel.
Reviewed by Conny
Bryceland, (Scribesworld).
Epinions.com Review
of Deadly Encounters
Deadly
Encounters leaves you wanting more from
Gallinger.
Epinions.com ID:
kid718
Jul 07 '03
Author's Product
rating: Three
Stars
Pros: Unique story
line, good writing.
Cons:
Predictable
Bottom Line: a
thrilling yet predictable mystery
Epinions.com Review
of A Crooked Path
This novel
(Escape) by Robert A. Gallinger was an
interesting suspense novel. Gallinger was a career
soldier and since retirement has written seven
other suspense novels before this one. I was not
familiar with any of his other novels, but looked
forward to reading this one. If I liked it there
would be more of his writing to choose from.
I found the cover
blurb to be a bit misleading as to what the book
contained so I will provide a more comprehensive
description: Pilar Brighton is having some
difficulties with her husband Rich. He leaves town
one day on one of his many “business”
trips. In frustration, Pilar goes out for a jog,
which is something she does often. While out
jogging at Blakely Park in small town Alabama,
three men pursue her. She doesn't know why they
want her but she runs for her life. Eventually they
outlast her and take her to their leader.
Leo Croker is a
self-proclaimed prophet, the leader of a commune
known as Willnook Springs. His flock does whatever
he tells them, including kidnapping Pilar. The
commune makes a living selling toys and dolls. But
something more sinister is behind the commune. And
Pilar is being held there against her will, for
some evil plot engineered by Croker.
As far as the author's
technical skill, I was impressed. The story was
suspenseful and kept me reading. The book has a
nice balance of narrative and dialogue,
contributing to the fast pacing. Even the narrative
is usually told from one of the character's points
of view, instead of just destruction of the
surroundings or events from an involved narrator,
which also contributed to the book's fast pacing
and tendency to suck the reader into the
story.
There are many
characters in the book, some of them on the side of
the good guys and some of them on the side of the
bad guys. Characterization is such that it is easy
to tell which is which. It ends up that Pilar has
some allies on the inside of the commune that aid
her, which also heightens the suspense, because
these people have to maintain their facade to
Croker, but at the same time build trust with
Pilar. Her husband Richard is also a good
character, because when he comes home to find his
wife missing, he realizes that their marital
problems have been his fault and he wants to mend
them. But he has to find her first.
An aspect of this
novel I liked was that you get a sense of Croker's
mania right from the beginning. You know he's got
something else in mind besides just what he's
telling his underlings, adding to the suspense. His
thugs are even in fear of him. Conversely, though,
the author didn't give quite enough hint as to
exactly HOW Croker was evil. Was he plotting to
unleash destruction against the town, the country,
the planet? Or was he just seeking to manipulate
people into serving him, like a God? I felt if I
understood better the nature of Croker's threat it
would have helped me feel more compassion for Pilar
and more worry about who was going to stop
him.
Another minor negative
is the characters of Sanchez and Martinez. These
are the “Florida people” that Croker
keeps saying are coming to the commune. You get the
sense there is a plot afoot, that Croker is going
to turn against them. However, again, there is not
enough hint of just what Croker has in mind. Of
course you wouldn't want to outright tell what is
going on, that would eliminate the suspense
altogether. But a hint of the scope of the plot
(like against all humanity!), what Croker hopes to
gain (money?), and the method of his madness (is it
a drug plot?), would have helped add to the
suspense. The reader needs to know how important it
is that this guy is stopped. If it's just a drug
deal, for example, I don't think that many people
are going to care that one drug lord takes out
another. Instead the author throws in that the
“Florida people” are coming to shoot a
movie. Boy did that read weird in the midst of
everything else that was happening. It does play
out in the end, but its relevance seemed odd when
first mentioned.
My only other
complaint is that the ending seemed a bit
anti-climactic and seemed to tie up everything too
quickly. It does not tell what happens to the
people that helped Pilar. It does tell what happens
to Croker and his lieutenants but it is done too
quickly and I think the bad guys needed to suffer a
bit more. And though the author does provide an
explanation for Croker's plan, I felt the
description was minimal and needed much more
detail. At the end of a book I need to feel
outraged over this maniac and triumph that he has
been dealt with. I didn't really feel that
here.
Despite a few minor
plotting “problems,” I enjoyed the
book. It was definitely a unique plot, a big plus
in its favor. It was also set in a unique place,
small-town Alabama, which is also a place that you
don't read about much in novels. I liked how the
real-life unstable weather in the area was used as
a plot device in the story. I liked the fast pacing
and the sense of approaching danger. It was also a
book that teens could read as it has no sex or
profanity. There are a couple of violent scenes,
but nothing worse than you would see described in
the evening news. There is even a Christian message
in it, at the point when Pilar is feeling hopeless
about her situation and is reaching for inspiration
about persevering. This book was good enough that I
would likely read another book by this
author.
Recommended
Yes
|
||
|
|