Reality Check reviewed at Self-Publishing Review

Reality Check has just received its first proper review, at Self-Publishing Review, and it’s a great one. Here’s a snippet:

If you find yourself recoiling at the mention of any of these issues – telekinesis, unified consciousness, “disproving” Christianity – then you are the perfect candidate to read this book. You may be equally convinced of your worldview after reading this book, but extraordinary beliefs require an extraordinary investigation, and that concept permeates this book. Sloan does not enter into these ideas lightly. What is so effective is that he’s never overly credulous about far-out claims, nor overly dismissive of mainstream dogma, which is why the book is so useful as a primer on esoteric spirituality … This book is an important one – because even if you don’t believe a word he says, he conveys these ideas with such sincerity and clarity that it has still served a good purpose. If you’re looking for other answers, Reality Check has the potential to be transformative.

[ Read Full Review ]

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Interview at Self-Publishing Review

There’s a new interview with me up at Self-Publishing Review. Here’s a brief excerpt:

MR: The cover blurb of Chion poses a question – “How will you survive?”. By the end, I think that most readers will have asked themselves this question, because in Chion, there are no easy answers. Once the full effect of the disaster becomes apparent, survival depends on the result of some agonising decisions.

DS: I’m always fascinated by the grey areas of life, where our notions of right and wrong are put to the test and we face challenges and where there aren’t any easy answers.

MR: Do you think that you would make a good survivor in a post apocalyptic scenario?

DS: I think I would. First, it’s a big help if you’ve watched everything by Ray Mears! But more than that, you’ve got to have the sort of mind that can remain calm in a crisis and can see the big picture rather than just the danger right in front of you – to ask yourself not only where the next meal is going to come from, but how we’ll sustain ourselves indefinitely.

This was a big theme in Chion. Even the larger food supplies that everyone was clamouring over were merely postponing the inevitable. Most people were prepared to live in denial of what was coming, as long as they could see the next meal, when the real solution lay in facing up to the scale of the crisis and thinking outside the box.

[ Read Full Interview ]

Chion reviewed at Books For Youth

Another great unsolicited review of Chion has cropped up, at a site called Books For Youth. Here’s an excerpt:

This story makes many ‘traditionally published’ books I’ve read pale in comparison … It’s an original story idea – which seems to be hard to find now-a-days–and has a good underlining message … This story is filled with a constant moral dilemma: how far do you go to save those you care about?

[ Read Full Review ]

Chion reviewed at Self-Publishing Review

Chion has clocked up yet another excellent review, this time at Self-Publishing Review. Here’s an excerpt:

The book is a similar high-concept apocalypse similar to M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Happening” or “The Mist” based on a Stephen King story. Except where those movies fail – and fail deeply, as “The Mist” has one of the most distressing and frustrating endings in movie history – Chion succeeds. Perhaps movies are the best comparison for Chion because the book is seriously cinematic – one of those books where you forget you’re reading.

[ Read Full Review ]

Two Irish sci-fi authors chat

This month, Chion is being toured by the Christian Fiction Review Blog. In short, that means that reviews of the book and interviews with me will be posted by participating members of the blog (see below). It’s mostly an American-based affair, but I had a nice surprise when one of the reviewers, a New Zealander called Grace Bridges, turned out to be currently living near Dublin, Ireland, not that far (on a global scale) from me. In a strange coincidence, I happened to be reading her own novel, Faith Awakened, at the time. Spooky.

Instead of doing a typical email interview, we decided to meet up and do a proper in-person audio interview. And it’s not just an interview with me about my book. I decided to make it a double interview, where we’re both asking the questions. Here it is.

Download interview: [ Part 1 ] [ Part 2 ] [ Part 3 ] [ Part 4 ]

CFR Blog interviews with Darryl Sloan, conducted by:

• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened (Introduction)
• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened (Part 1)
• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened (Part 2)
• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened (Part 3)
• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened (Part 4)
• Cathi Hassan
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant

CFR Blog reviews of Chion, written by:

• Grace Bridges, author of Faith Awakened
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 1)
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 2)
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 3)
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 4)
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 5)
• David Brollier, author of The 3rd Covenant (Part 6)
• Caprice Hokstad, fantasy novelist
• Melissa @ Bibliophile’s Retreat
• Cathi Hassan
• David Brollier @ Christian Mystery Writers
• Steve @ Back to the Mountains
• Laura Davis, Christian author

Mrs. Giggles rates Chion 95/100

Romance fiction reviewer Mrs. Giggles has just posted a terrific review of Chion on her site. What’s an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller doing on a romance site? Well, my bleak and harrowing novel does have its tender moments. Here’s my favourite snippet from the review:

The main characters of Chion are teenagers and I can easily imagine that some people would view this book as one aimed at young adults, but there is nothing dumbed-down or kiddie-like about this story. Some of the scenes here are not for the faint of heart though. Not that they are violent or gruesome, but because they drive home the evil men can do in situations such as this one. A teacher is driven to insist that the students starve so that the teachers can eat, for example. There are more disturbing scenes here, but I’ll let the reader discover them for herself.

[ Read Full Review ]

“A story that you simply mustn’t miss” – Jeffrey Allen Davis on Chion

Independent Christian fiction writer Jeffrey Allen Davis has just posted a review of Chion on his blog. Jeff’s review is a bit different from the others, as he made a couple of unique observations:

The book does set up some disturbing images. It shows how a major disaster like this would affect society. We see people killing one another over food. We see a man murdered in front of his small children. We see a child held at gunpoint by a teacher who has decided that “survival of the fittest” means that the teachers should live and the students should starve. Sloan didn’t put these things in for shock value. Indeed, the bloodshed is not detailed very much at all. This is not a boiled-down thriller. We see a sense of realism that shows that even our society’s innocents would be harmed in these events.

With a bittersweet ending, this is a story that you simply mustn’t miss.

[ Read Full Review ]

POD People rates Chion 9/10

Chion has just received its sixth review, this time by novelist Emily Veinglory at POD People. She rated the novel 9 out of 10 and said:

I read a lot of mediocre books, but this wasn’t one of them. Seamless, engaging and appealing … Chion is effortless to read and the story unfolds strong until an ending that is perhaps too pat in some ways but still manages something of a clever twist.

[ Link ]

“Best book I’ve read this year” – Will Hadcroft on Chion

Fellow author Will Hadcroft (Anne Droyd and Century Lodge and The Feeling’s Unmutual) has posted a review of Chion on his blog. Here’s an excerpt:

What starts out as a science-fiction thriller, becomes, by turns, a tale about a group of increasingly paranoid and frightened people stuck in an enclosed place, an adventure about fugitives on the run, and a love story.

Shades of John Wyndham (The Day of the Triffids) and John Christopher (the Tripods saga) come through as Chion mimics the best of the old post-apocalyptic greats, while at the same time remaining poignant and contemporary.

Darryl Sloan is a keen observer of human nature. His plotting is meticulous and clever. He deserves to have national and international success with this. It is the best book I’ve read this year.

[ Read Full Review ]

Chion is Book of the Month at The PODler

I had a look around the various POD book review blogs recently and was delighted to discover that Chion has been selected as April’s Book of the Month at The PODler. There was stiff competition that month, with two other book rated “A” and “A+”.

[ Link ]