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Richard Sones grew up as a citizen of the world. Moving every three to twenty-four months from continent to continent, he was exposed to many cultures. As an adult, he continued his tour of the world as a chaplain in the U.S. Army having served 28 years. As a consequence of many deployments, he has first hand knowledge of many varied customs and peoples. Happily married now 38 years, he is a father to four and grandfather to another four. He is still in ministry as the chaplain of a major hospital in El Paso, Texas. He lives just outside the city in the semi-desert where he has time to write, build things in his wood shop, play his guitar, and tinker with the yard.
Reviewed by Sherri Fulmer Moorer for Readers' Favorite
How do you picture the end of days? Everybody's familiar with the Left Behind series, but are you ready for another take on the end of the world? Richard Sones gives you a gripping glimpse at future history in A Brush With the Beast. It begins with Nick Gooseberry, a smart and talented IT executive who has it all, except relief from chronic back pain. As is often the case with a debilitating illness or injury, he's willing to do anything to rid himself of it, including getting involved in a secretive organization simply referred to as The Order. At first he must sacrifice it all on blind faith, but faith in what is the question as his pain recedes and he's promised permanent relief ... as long as he pledges unwavering loyalty to the order. Add in a Palestinian boy angered over the loss of his parents, and a young ex-con in Texas who is set up by her boss, and you have the unsuspecting beginning of a thrilling tale that ties all of the pieces together into a picture that leads to the first signs of the end of times - and what people will do to survive.
A Brush With the Beast is a thrilling, fast paced novel that will keep you guessing until the end, and will stick in your head far beyond the last page. Richard Sones does a great job of tying together the characters across a landscape that literally spans most of the globe. What's more, I like the characters in this book much better than in the Left Behind series, because frankly they're more believable, likable, and realistic than other Christian novels I've read. It's an excellent story with a powerful testimony that will warm your heart and ignite your hope. An excellent novel!
