G952 Book Review of hero by Boyd Taylor

Name of Book: Hero

Author: Boyd Taylor

ISBN: 978-0-9894707-2-8

Publisher: Katherine Brown Press

Part of a Series: Donnie Ray Cuinn series

Type of book: Mysteries, "alternative news" politics, history, two sides, modern times, fact checking, learning lessons, Austin Texas, family, friends

Year it was published: 2012

Summary:

When budding historian Donnie Ray Cuinn stumbles upon an old letter in the musty bowels of the Texas State Archives, he believes he has uncovered the true story of Sam Payne's valiant, or perhaps not so valiant, capture of Mexican leader Santa Anna during the Battle of San Jacinto. Cuinn's findings are published in a local magazine. But the article eventually becomes fodder in the gubernatorial race between Democratic upstart Bob Braeswood and Republican favorite Sam Eben Payne V, the great-great-grandson of the Texas hero. Braeswood is intent on exploiting the past, while Payne will do anything to suppress it. In the ensuing battle, Donnie finds his beliefs, not to mention his relationships, stretched to the limit in the first novel of the Donnie Ray Cuinn series, Hero. "Political intrigue at its best." - Max Sherman, former Dean of LBJ School at the University of Texas

Characters:

Main characters include Donnie Ray Cuinn who is a budding historian and has discovered the secret account of what happened to a local Republican politician's ancestor. There is also Donnie Ray's best friend who seems to be a playboy and has shady dealings of his own. There are also Donnie Ray's adopted parents who encourage him and who are there for him no matter what. And Donnie Ray's love interest, Cecilia Rueda Medina who is a budding lawyer.

Theme:

Life is more complicated than it seems

Plot:

The story is told in third person narrative from Donny's point of view. The strong points in the story include the interesting premise, the twist at the end and the funny spin on history as well as highlighting interesting points about Austin. What the author could have worked on are the characters' development and perhaps the impact of certain scenes. I also liked the lessons that people should learn, such as there being two sides to the story and to be careful what you attach your name to as well as to check your sources.

Author Information:
(From iRead Book Tours)


Meet the Author:

BOYD TAYLOR lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and their Havanese dog Toby. Necessities is the fourth novel in the Donnie Ray Cuinn series. In a former life, Boyd was a lawyer and a corporate officer. A native of Temple, Texas, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in government and an LL.B. from the law school.

​Boyd's first novel "Hero" was prescient in its story about fake news. His second novel, "The Antelope Play," dealt with drug trafficking in the Texas Panhandle, an unfortunately accurate forecast. The third, "The Monkey House", involved commercial development of a large green space in the center of Austin, all too familiar to Austin residents. Whether his upcoming novel "Necessities" predicts future events with the accuracy of the earlier books remains to be seen.

Connect with the Author: Website ~ Facebook




Buy the Books:
Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble
Add to Goodreads
Opinion:

Let me first mention this: the story was published in 2012, way before the Trump Age of divisiveness and fake news began. Why am I saying it? Because the book talks about the "fake news" four years before it happens! What I did enjoy about the story are the twists and turns that the author puts his character through and I also liked the funny take on Santa Anna's defeat and how its used for political folderol by the opposing party. (I honestly imagined the villain of the story as Donald Trump!) What I feel that the author could have worked on more are the characters' personalities which seemed to suffer from lack of development and I also wanted more of the villain in the story.

This is for iRead Book Tours

BOOK REVIEW TOUR SCHEDULE:

Jan 3 - Library of Clean Reads - tour kickoff / spotlight all 4 books / giveaway
Jan 4 - Library of Clean Reads - review of Hero / giveaway
Jan 5 - Literary Flits - review of Hero / giveaway
Jan 8 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of Hero
Jan 9 - Olio by Marilyn - review of Hero / author interview / giveaway
Jan 10 - Library of Clean Reads - review of The Antelope Play / giveaway
Jan 15 - Library of Clean Reads - review of The Monkey House / giveaway
Jan 17 - Olio by Marilyn - review of The Antelope Play / giveaway
Jan 18 - Books for Books - review of Hero
Jan 19 - Literary Flits - spotlight of The Antelope Play / giveaway
Jan 22 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of The Antelope Play
Jan 23 - A Mama's Corner of the World - spotlight of Books 1, 2 and 3
Jan 24 - Hall Ways Blog - spotlight of Books 1, 2 and 3
Jan 25 - Books for Books - review of The Antelope Play
Jan 26 - Olio by Marilyn - review of The Monkey House / giveaway
Jan 29 - Library of Clean Reads - review of Necessities / author interview / giveaway
Jan 30 - A Mama's Corner of the World - review of Necessities / giveaway
Jan 30 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review of Hero / guest post / giveaway
Jan 31 - Hall Ways Blog - review of Necessities / giveaway
Feb 5 - Literary Flits - spotlight of The Monkey House / giveaway
Feb 6 - Books for Books - review of The Monkey House
Feb 7 - Bound 4 Escape - review of Hero / giveaway
Feb 7 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review of The Antelope Play / giveaway
Feb 8 - Olio by Marilyn - review of Necessities / giveaway
Feb 9 - A Page Before Bedtime - review of Necessities / giveaway
Feb 12 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of The Monkey House
Feb 13 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review of The Monkey House / giveaway
Feb 14 - Bound 4 Escape - review of The Antelope Play / giveaway
Feb 15 - Books for Books - review of Necessities
Feb 16 - Fantastic Feathers - review of Necessities
Feb 19 - FUONLYKNEW - review of Hero / giveaway
Feb 19 - Literary Flits - review of Necessities / giveaway
Feb 20 - FUONLYKNEW - review of The Antelope Play / giveaway
Feb 21 - FUONLYKNEW - review of The Monkey House / giveaway
Feb 21 - Bound 4 Escape - review of The Monkey House / giveaway
Feb 21 - Rockin' Book Reviews - review of Necessities / giveaway
Feb 22 - JBronder Book Reviews - review of Hero / guest post / giveaway
Feb 22 - FUONLYKNEW - review of Necessities / giveaway
Feb 23 - JBronder Book Reviews - review of The Antelope Play / giveaway
Feb 23 - Books are Love - review of Hero / guest post / giveaway
Feb 26 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review of Necessities
Feb 26 - JBronder Book Reviews - review of The Monkey House/ giveaway
Feb 26 - Books are Love - review of he Antelope Play / giveaway
Feb 27 - JBronder Book Reviews - review of Necessities / guest post / giveaway
Feb 27 - Books are Love - review of The Monkey House / giveaway
Feb 28 - Bound 4 Escape - review of Necessities / giveaway
Feb 28 - Books are Love - review of Necessities / giveaway

3 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)