The Penitent

Part I

Fiction - Fantasy - Epic
292 Pages
Reviewed on 01/15/2022
Buy on Amazon

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Author Biography

I am an author, poet, and classical guitarist with a lifelong addiction to storytelling. Mountain ranges and coastlines fascinate me, I still remain stymied in suburbia. Faith, music, family, friends, and two fur babies help sustain me.

I'm currently writing a planned nine-book series titled "The Immortality Wars". It is a sci-fi, fantasy, and spiritual thriller based upon Christian themes. The second trilogy, "the Pilgrim", is currently being written. The first trilogy, "the Penitent", was published by Stillwater River Publications in August 2019.

Throw in a little bit of Dean Koontz, Stephen King, and Lee Child with J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, and I'm happy to say that these writers are heroes who inspire me to write stories that enchant, terrify, and hopefully entertain my readers.

The Immortality Wars series was created from several questions I asked myself. For example, given the history of humanity's conflict between good and evil, what will we be like 540 years from now in 2562? If we continue our exponential increase in our rate of knowledge, where will this knowledge take us? Will we be at peace, or will we be at war? Will science become a religious force to us, one that we worship?

I wanted to write a series of books that had the power to tell a story in the style of a Tolkien or Lewis, but one containing the sensibilities of our 21st-century experience.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Natalie Soine for Readers' Favorite

In his novel The Penitent: Part 1, author A. Keith Carreiro tells the story of Pall Warren. Pall’s mother died during childbirth, leaving his father, David, to raise him. Pall met High Marshall Solace Umbré, who commanded an elite unit of men called the Aeonian Guard, and his captain, Joseph Martains. Pall joined Solace’s army under the tutelage of Sergeant Meginhard and Sergeant Burchard. Pall went to war where he met Commander John Savage and the two encounter a Valravn, a supernatural raven. Pall and John find shelter in an abandoned farmhouse where Paul is attacked by Captain Error and his men, Gregor and Gordo of the Mordant Marauders. Savage kills two of the men before seeing an Ünger, an evil three-in-one monster who devoured people. After his escape, Pall met Thomas and Alicia Cooper with their two daughters, Myra and Mary, and traveled with them to Gullswater. Along the way, Ünger found them and it was up to Pall to save himself and the Cooper family.

The Penitent is a suspenseful story filled with action and adventure. Author A. Keith Carreiro has penned a beautiful novel with an array of unusual characters, both real and imagined. The scenes and locations including the farmhouse, forest, rivers, and trees come to life as Pall makes his way to Gullswater. I love Keith’s use of the English language and descriptive writing, including poems and songs. The battle scenes show us that war is brutal and causes only suffering and pain. “The wonder and guilt of it all were seen in the survivors who walked away from the sufferings of war. However, if you want peace, prepare for war.” The Penitent is an exceptional story, highly recommended to everyone.