Digital Reads Reviews

My review

Imagine being thrust in the middle of a movie where there is active pursuit happening… Just close your eyes and imagine… 

The scene is thus 

Sergeant Schaefer, running after his target who has a makeshift flamethrower and a chainsaw, suddenly finds his body in flames. To stop from getting fully burnt, he dives into a puddle and the target escapes. To his horror, Schaefer sees the target using the flamethrower over the trees lining the Hollywood Boulevard. So he gets up and chases his target, with rain pounding his back and pain waves nearly causing him to black out.. The target has one enemy, mother NATURE and intends to wipe her out. He is a patient escaped from a psychiatric facility. 

This entire short story consists of the chase and the finale where everything is revealed with a modified treatment sought out for this target, Sergeant Major Alan Bushell of United States Army, 1998-2008.

The story is short but it’s thrilling and hard hitting. What particularly struck me is the pathos, which this author has towards an Army Veteran who has returned from war with PTSD. This comes across so well, in his words, in the way his main character, Sergeant Schaefer deals with Sergent Bushell who has lost his team during combat, by an act of mother nature. 

So often we don’t realize or understand what our soldiers go through when they are away at war, battling not only the enemy but also other factors, local and environmental. And the kind of treatment they are meted out when they come back with their own demons is almost inhumane. They are labelled and treated according to those labels. 

The writing, to begin with, is jarring and difficult to envision but as the chase carries on, it becomes easier, though the storytelling is a little different. Elias Zanbaka in his debut, has done a fairly good job in bringing a slice of thriller in 19 pages…

Whats next, Mr. Zanbaka… 

Since I was wondering the same, I did ask him a few questions and his answers are in the following post… 

I received this copy from Elias Zanbaka and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. 

My rating : 4 stars 

About the Author 

Elias Zanbaka is from Sydney, Australia and is currently in the midst of obtaining a Bachelor of Computer Science. This is his debut venture and he is currently working on his next one. 
Book blurb 

Out of seven billion people, one man has declared war on mother nature and plans to bring it to its knees. 

Out of all the criminals in Los Angeles, he is the number one target being hunted by LAPD tonight

And out of the entire LAPD, one officer is hell bent on helping him complete his mission. 

Product Details 

Publication date : 5th March 2016

Publisher : E. Z Publication 

Language : English 

           A short thriller