Summary
After serving one tour of duty in Vietnam, Corporal Aaron Prescott returns in the summer of 1969. However, from a cavalryman, he’s taking the second tour as a combat medic. Most of the guys know him as a Corporal so when they find out that he has re-upped as a medic, it comes as a big shock most especially because he volunteered to be re-enlisted.
Aaron boards the first of several long flights and layovers along with the cavalry soldiers. A few days later, he sets foot on the soil of Vietnam. He goes to a city nearby to reunite with his Vietnamese girlfriend named Ping, so he can spend time with her. About 20 feet from Ping’s house, he hears the same exact words that her blind grandmother always seems to utter whenever he’s around, but then Ping seems to always avoid the subject. This time, Aaron is eager to find out what it means so after urging her to explain it, she finally translates the Vietnam words as “Look! A soldier of light come near. Evil surely fear and death fall on dark demons that who dare trespass. Be brave soldier of light, be brave.”
Not long, Aaron falls from a plane during a combat and faces a near death experience. He goes on comatose for months. During this time, he enters a spiritual realm where angels, gargoyles, and demons exist. After undergoing an extensive spiritual training, Aaron’s soul goes back to his physical body with a new mission as a mystic warrior.
Review
Spyder Bones by Oliver Phipps instantly captured my attention through its title, summary, and book cover. This is my type of novel – a fast-pacing fantasy about good versus evil that never stops escalating as you turn the pages. Angels, gargoyles, vampires, a handsome-looking soldier who turns into a mystic warrior and writes music too? No fantasy reader will overlook this kind of book!
I like that the action and surprises never stop. I think there’s rarely an ordinary day for Aaron aka Spyder Bones except of course when he’s being romantic or sentimental. Aaron can read people’s aura which makes the story more fascinating and the best part in reading this book is learning the story’s moral which Aaron quoted as, “Failure is simply opportunity from another angle.”
Surprisingly, there are things that I don’t like about this book: (1) some dialogues are cheesy and cliché, particularly between Aaron and Sonya, and (2) I found some grammar lapses and punctuation errors.
Overall, I am giving this 3 out of 4 stars. I didn’t consider my own feelings of disgust towards the lines between Aaron and Sonya because I do lack good judgment when it comes to the romantic part. The deduction from rating was purely based on poor editing; if it was flawlessly edited, I would’ve given it a perfect score.
Lastly, I recommend this book to mature readers who love fantasy novels. There are curse words and sexual content, but adult readers will find this a fresh and original story.