The Charge by Sharon Bayliss Review

Summery:

When the King of the Texas Empire kidnaps Warren's brother, Warren embarks into a still Wild West to save him. On his journey, he makes a discovery that changes his life forever—he and his brother are long-lost members of the Texas royal family and the King wants them both dead.

He gets help from an activist Texan named Lena, who's itching to take on the King and happens to be a beautiful firecracker Warren can't stay away from. Convincing her he's not one of the bad guys becomes harder when a mysterious energy stirs in his body, turning his brain into a hive of emotions and memories—not all his own.

A legacy of violence is not all he inherited from the brutal Kings of Texas. The myth that the royal family possesses supernatural powers may not be myth at all.

My review:

5 of 5 stars

Read from March 15 to April 02, 2013

An alternate history of the U.S. and Texas with a few characters that have paranormal elements because of their blood. In this book, Texas and the U.S. don't like each other. The U.S. bombed Texas to kill off its ruthless King and all others that share his blood...but after almost 2 decades, a new King materializes and rumors of war begin to escalate. Will another ruthless dictator take over Texas, or will the Wild West finally take steps towards democracy?

There is a legacy of violence from the brutal Kings of Texas.

There is also a myth that the royal family possesses supernatural powers may not be myth at all. With the sizzling blue blood of the Texas dynasty, there is a lot at stake, and a lot of people who will do anything--including murder--to stack the cards one way or the other in this political maelstrom.

Warren returns from college because the King of Texas has kidnapped Isaac, his quirky genius brother. When Warren King’s brother is kidnapped, he learns that he’s a descendent of the Texan royal family, and that puts his life in danger. Warren disregards his Mom's suggestion to run off to Canada for safety and heads into Texas to look for answers. He's always been the one to take care of their family..

On his journey, he makes a discovery that changes his life forever.Everything he knew was based on lies and he's role in current events may be much more than anything he ever dreamed for himself. All Warren wanted was to have a normal life- to go to college, date, find someone to love, get married, land a good job and live with his family. Just a normal, boring life with no major complications. But this dream not valid anymore - he and his brother are long-lost members of the Texas royal family and the King wants them both dead.

Then along comes Lena, a Texan activist itching to take on the King and a beautiful firecracker Warren can't stay away from. Convincing her he's not one of the bad guys becomes harder when a mysterious energy stirs in his body, turning his brain into a hive of emotions and memories—not all his own.

Gone are the days when choosing a major was a big deal. Now Warren must save his brother and choose whether or not to be King, follow a King, or die before he can retire his fake ID.

The Charge, just like the lightening on the front cover, this book runs its course with a unrelenting fury until it reaches the final destination. I has a very well developed cast, a large talent for the written word, and a great flair of speculative fiction. It was very enjoyable and refreshing book, which kept me engaged at every turn.(I Read this book in two days).

This book is fast paced, with lots of mystery and suspense, surprising turnings and sizzling energy. I found the alternate tweaked history setting intriguing. It is an impressive tale of a Texas Empire against the United States. There’s along-standing hostility between Texas and the United States, always strained and never predictable. Add to it a rumored supernatural powers passed down through the Kings of Texas and you got fire lights.

The characters, all complicated and busy with their own agendas, are connected in ways they can’t understand, and they each have a much larger role to play. Every character has a flaw or two, and many make you wonder wtf going on?

I also enjoy this kind of fiction that use science and especially biology which use ideas of genetics.

I am sure looking forward to the next book! I'm told that it's in the works as we speak. A well done debut, Sharon Bayliss! I enjoyed reading this story and I'll be in line for the next. 

So hurry up what you R waiting for???

Sample Chapter of The Charge

Chapter One

When Warren arrived outside his mother's apartment, he saw Luke Skywalker's face plastered against the window. For some reason, his mother had taped his old Star Wars comforter over the patio glass. He didn't pause too long to wonder why. His mother suffered from what his brother called severe eccentricity, a condition that sometimes included blacking out windows with old sheets for no obvious reason.

Warren always came home when his mother asked, in part because she tended to do things like make bacon in the toaster and start fires. However, if she called him today for anything less than a toaster fire, he would head right back to campus to enjoy the first day after finals the way he had intended to—drunk and poolside.

He wiped his feet like his mother taught him, even though the revolting brown carpeting didn't show much. He kind of missed the crappiness of the apartment he grew up in, although he didn't know why, because crappy also described his new apartment in Eugene. Still, to him, home smelled like pine trees intermingled with pool chlorine and exhaust from the laundry room.

His mother stood in the kitchen beside their yellow nineteen-eighties stove and a refrigerator that always looked too small next to Warren and his other too-tall family members. She held a box of uncooked spaghetti and didn't respond to his presence right away. The box of spaghetti looked worn and crushed, as if his mother had stood there and squeezed the box for a while. The wrinkle between her eyes had grown deeper, and a few more strands of gray had found their way into her waist-length black hair.

Warren took the box of spaghetti out of her hands.

"I will make you dinner," she said.

"I'm not hungry."

Two Red Bulls churned in Warren's hungover and now worried stomach.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Please don't say cancer. At six-foot-five, Warren had grown too tall for most childish things, but losing his mama still felt like the worst thing that could possibly happen.

"It's Isaac," she said.

Warren's hands began to sweat.

"What's wrong with him?"

Okay, maybe losing his little brother felt like the worst thing that could possibly happen.

His mother took Warren by the hand and led him into their apartment's only bedroom. She had slept on the couch for fourteen years, and Warren and Isaac had shared this room. A bleach-stained towel hung over a broken window. Through the gap, Warren saw the courtyard full of pine trees where they had played as kids—the courtyard where Isaac collected specimens to look at under his microscope while Warren hit mud balls with his baseball bat.

Glass surrounded a brownish-red smudge on the carpet. Blood.

"What is this?" Warren asked.

"Someone took him."

Warren's breath caught in his throat.

"He came home to visit. Said he felt sick. I tried to get off work, but I couldn't find anyone to cover my shift." Her voice took on a higher, more urgent pitch. "When I came home, he was gone."

"You mean someone actually broke in and took him?"

"Yes."

"He's sixteen years old and freaking six-foot-four. You don't just abduct a guy like that for no reason. What the hell for?"

She shook her head, her eyes on the spot of blood.

"Did you call the police?" His voice got higher and louder too.

"Yes, I called 9-1-1, like you told me to for an emergency. Isaac put the numbers on the phone so I wouldn't forget. They came and asked me questions and took pictures."

"What did the police say?" Warren asked.

"Just to call if anything new happens."

"It doesn't make sense. He's nice to everyone. Keeps his head down. This is bullshit." He realized he had yelled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to curse."

"It's okay."

Warren knelt to get a better look at the blood smudge, careful to avoid the glass.

His mother sat on the floor next to him and took his hand.

He didn't notice his hand shook until she held it firmly.

She pulled him into a hug and squeezed tightly.

"I love you," she said.

"I know. I love you, too, Mom."

"I think you should go."

"What? No. I'm not going anywhere." She got confused at the grocery store on her best days. She needed him now. And he needed her.

"They'll come for you, too," she said in a near-whisper.

He pulled away from her. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing. I'm just worried. I don't want to lose you, too."

She didn't lie well, and only one topic caused her to act this evasive.

"Does this have anything to do with my father?"

She paused for what seemed like a full minute, and then finally gave the same answer she always gave when they asked about their father.

"No. Your father is dead. He died in Waterloo when the bomb hit Texas."

 About the author:

Sharon Bayliss is a science fiction and fantasy author. Her debut novel, The Charge, was released on 3/2/13 by Curiosity Quills Press. When she’s not writing, she enjoys living in her happily-ever-after with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and playing in the mud (which she calls gardening).

An avid daydreamer, Sharon Bayliss has lived in magical version of Austin, Texas for her entire life. So, using a fantastical, alternate history Texas as a setting for her debut novel The Charge, was just “writing what she knows”. To her, nothing goes better with barbecue and live music than robots and superhuman royalty.

As a child, Sharon lived on a 6 ½ acre patch of land with cows for neighbors. She enjoyed playing in mud, collecting frogs, and was so certain that there was a ghost in her closet that her mother admits that she half-expected to really find one there. She began writing her first novel at the age of fifteen (handwritten in a spiral marked ‘private’). 

A proud Austinite, Sharon never saw much sense in moving anywhere else and got her degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin. As an author and social worker, she has devoted her life to making the lives of real people better and the lives of fictional people much, much worse. In addition to her official credentials, she is also an expert in fictional Texas history and make-believe neuroscience.

When she’s not writing, she enjoys living in her “happily-ever-after” with her husband and two young sons. She can be found eating Tex-Mex on patios, wearing flip-flops, and still playing in the mud (which she now calls gardening).
Her site is here.

Interview with Sharon Bayliss

Sharon Bayliss author of The Charge

What is your favorite food? Color? Place?

Beef fajitas and white chocolate (not together). Red. My favorite place is my bed in the morning when both my sons climb in with me and my husband, and all the people I love are concentrated in one place.

Tell us about your garden.

Right now I have asparagus, sugar snap peas, carrots, spinach, lettuce, blackberries, peaches, and plums (although not all are in harvest mode). I don't coddle my plants. If a plant can't live in my garden with minimal water and compost, then it's not meant for this climate and I let it die. Survival of the fittest.

If you could change one thing about the world what would it be?

Wow. That's a thinker. In a general sense, I believe the world is imperfect for a reason. It's all part of a balance of good and evil, and I wouldn't attempt to disturb that balance. But with that said, I wish people would be more grateful for their blessings and appreciate what they have. It may not be logical, but I feel like if we appreciate our gifts, we're less likely to lose them.

What’s the name and genre of your book?

The Charge - Alternate History Fantasy 

Briefly describe your journey in writing your  book. (Why did you decide to write, why this genre, how you came up with the story-line and characters, etc)

When I was a child I would have trouble sleeping. My mom told me just to lie in bed and make up stories in my head until I fell asleep. I took her advice to heart, and have been entertaining myself with complicated story lines of my own design ever since. I wanted to share my creations with others.

Do people in your life inspire characters in your books?

Yes, although only in a vague sense. There isn't anyone specific that I'm trying to imitate with my characters. 

How has your upbringing influenced your writing?

I had a good childhood and loving parents, but my family was a little strange. Instead of living in the suburban house with the driveway and lawn like all my friends, we lived in a trailer on a 6 1/2 acre patch of land away from the main road. Being a little different can lead to creativity. :)

Does where you live influence your story?

Since The Charge is an alternate history about Texas, I would definitely have to say yes. I've lived in Austin, Texas for my entire life, and have had an active imagination that whole time. So, when I created a fantastical version of Texas in my novel, I brought my own imaginary world to life.

Does being a mother of two sons challenge being a writer?

Very much so. I take care of my sons during the day and then my husband comes from home from work and I go to work as a tobacco cessation counselor. Except for the weekends, I have no time that I'm not either watching my boys or working my "day" job. Honestly, I'm not even sure how I'm doing this! I just hope I can keep it up.

Do you have a special routine you go through before you begin writing?

Not necessarily, but some things help my creativity, like listening to music while running. And coffee. :)

If you could play a character you created, which one would you be?

I honestly would not like to be any of my characters. I put them through Hell. It's much nicer being me.

Do you research for your books, and if so what or how?

I'm not a big fan of research, but there is no way around it when you write an alternate history. I read books about the Texas Revolution and read the book How The States Got Their Shapes. The Charge is intended to be more about the characters and the story than the alternate timeline, but I still needed it to be accurate. 

What kind of books did you read that influenced your own writing?

I enjoy speculative fiction of all kinds, especially dystopias. But I'm not devoted to any particular genre and read everything from romance to mysteries to classics, which may be why The Charge blends a variety of genres and has trouble fitting into a box. 

Who is the audience for this book?

The Charge fits into the New Adult category, which targets college-aged readers. However, I hope it will appeal to a broad range of readers. I believe that both male and female readers from their late teens through adult would enjoy it, especially those that enjoy speculative fiction, dystopias, and the quirky and offbeat.