Toxic Vicki V Lucas 9781463727659 Books
Download As PDF : Toxic Vicki V Lucas 9781463727659 Books
He failed to save his sister. Now a stable boy must join forces with two other teens and an elusive winged horse to free their world from a deadly plot to poison humanity.
While facing global annihilation from toxic water in Eltiria, Kai is trying to save his sister from death. But when he seizes his only chance to make enough money to pay for healers, his plans are torn to shreds, and he finds himself battling monsters as he is chased farther away from his family.
Lizzy travels to a nearby city for safety, only to watch her older brother dragged away from her by monsters from myths. Running for her life, she must find a way to reunite her family as she is thrown into choices that lead her further from what she wants. Taryn knows it is his destiny to save the world through magic and is on his way to begin his journey to greatness. But then his beliefs are challenged as he is thrown off the path he has chosen for himself and into a life he never desired.
Guided by a mysterious winged horse named Eladar, they discover that the world is not what they thought and everything they believed was wrong. Can they locate the source of the poison and find their faith as they battle to find the truth in a world of chaos and destruction?
Reviews for Toxic, a young adult Christian Fantasy
"Toxic would appeal to anyone from age 10-90..." Laurie Penner
"It's a must read for anyone who loves adventure and creativity." Kaitlyn Deann
"I would recommend it for any teen, or coming-teen." Breezy WLK
"It was great to know that a book meant for young teens really appeals to them... and is actually okay for them to read from a mothers point of view!!" S. Sander
"Where many fantasy novels rely on magic to save the save the world, this one does the exact opposite." CorianderVaine
Toxic Vicki V Lucas 9781463727659 Books
This book was recommended to me by another author in the Indie Christian publishing circles, so I decided to take a chance.Plot – A
The plot of saving a dying world from an evil sorcerer may not be one of the most original in the range of fantasy plots, but I thought Lucas did a good job of making it her own. I didn’t feel that I was reading a rehash of a classic fantasy offering, which is always a good thing in my book. There was a distinct storyline that was completed in this book but the cliffhanger was written in such a way that I felt like there should have been more, which is a good way to make me want the next book if only to see what happens next. :)
Content – B-
There is no sensuality present in this book. The only language present is found in Kai’s humorous utterances – all inoffensive horse-related “swearing” such as “Stallion stalls.”
The main characters, Kai, Lizzy, and Taryn, do bicker constantly. Even after they’ve been reprimanded multiple times by two different characters, they fight and argue to the point that it really got on my nerves. It was extremely frustrating when these three teenagers (I also wasn’t sure how old they were except that Kai was probably the oldest) would work together for a page or two and I thought they making progress as far as maturity and then it was right back to the squabbling and screaming at each other. This wishy-washy footing with each other is also reflected in their spiritual journey. The spirituality is very clear in this book. There is a clear difference being drawn between the magic fueled by spells and the abilities given by Adoyni and Lesa the divine Prince who paid for freedom of the world with His life. The allegorical aspect is very clear and there is an interesting choice of turning a wind into a character, but the chapters written from his point of view were well done. The worship of Adoyni has essentially faded but while each of the main characters make a decision to believe in Him at different points in the book, they all immediately go back to being wishy-washy and turning back to the goddess. This is a huge frustration in regards to one character who believes then backpedals then believes then backpedals then believes then backpedals right until the very end. I can understand them struggling to keep the faith but I wish “one step forward, two steps back” didn’t apply to all three of them in regards to their interactions with each other and their spiritual journey. I really wanted to see at least one characters stay firm and help the other two stay firm in their own journeys.
There is a LOT of violence and darkness in this book. There are murders, people dying of poisoned water, bloody wounds, and a zombie army. Let me be clear that I despise zombies, I don’t like them on TV, film, or in books. HOWEVER, the Unwanted as they are called are not really the Hollywood type of zombies. At least, they don’t want brains and they can do more than shuffle so I could tolerate them more than usual. They are specifically described in legend as being caught between heaven and hell. These zombies also have black blood that spurts when they get a limb chopped off. There is one character who is badly injured twice and eventually dies from their wounds. Another character is described as losing so much blood from a head wound, I was a bit surprised that they lasted as long without true medical attention even from the head wound. There is also a human sacrifice scene, that wasn’t graphic.
Technical – A-
This book was well-edited. I think there were only three places where there was a punctuation error – a period missing or an extra space was between the opening quotation mark and the word. There were some issues with the narration. First, when we jumped to a different secondary narrator for a few sections, it was so far into the book that it felt a bit jarring to me. Second, one of the biggest difficulties for multiple narrators in the same place is avoiding the “I just went through all this with the other character” feeling, and while this particular sensation was avoided, there were pacing issues because we kept jumping back in time with the narrator switches, especially in regards to the final battle.
Final Grade – B or 4 stars
Overall, the book was okay. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. There were some interesting decisions in regards to the narrators. But, I liked the feel of a fantasy world with winged horses (Archippos) and good and evil locked in conflict. The zombies…I can tolerate them this time. I do hope the more irritating aspects for the heroes’ characters are grown out of over the course of the next book. I will probably read Book Two just to find out what happens. I recommend this book for fans of fantasy books dealing with spiritual warfare and those who like Christian fantasy employing zombies. Recommended for ages 15 and up.
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Tags : Toxic [Vicki V. Lucas] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. He failed to save his sister. Now a stable boy must join forces with two other teens and an elusive winged horse to free their world from a deadly plot to poison humanity. While facing global annihilation from toxic water in Eltiria,Vicki V. Lucas,Toxic,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1463727658,Christian - Fantasy,Fantasy,Fiction,Fiction - Religious,Fiction Christian Fantasy,Religious & spiritual fiction
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Toxic Vicki V Lucas 9781463727659 Books Reviews
This is a good book and a compelling read, though very dark.
In this day and age, many will like it or even love it. The other reviews prove this out.
But I found yet another unrelenting tale of darkness and horror redeemed by the Lord barely in time--in spite of the so-called good guys. It was like the Lord was determined to do good even though the good guys seemed to be fighting Him tooth and nail. Yes, I'm tired of the constant and relentless danger, trials, and evil. Yes, evil is defeated eventually, but what a rough ride!
I think I gave this a decent rating, but I felt beat up emotionally by the end of it. Yet, I just read it a second time to get ready for Rancid, and I liked it much more.
Normally, good guys aren't nasty. They may start out that way, but they grow and change. In a Christian book, the assumption is that they gradually allow the Lord to transform them. In Toxic, that eventually happens, to a small degree. I was hoping for more, but they're just children.
I didn't find the bad guy particularly evil either. He was almost comic in his badness. He was so over the top it was hard to take him seriously. My guess is that I didn't see him with any humanity. But that's common in stories like this.
In spite of all my kvetching, it is a good, well-written book. Many of the younger set will like it a lot. Given the popularity of ridiculousness like vampires, zombies and the like, I should be more kind as I didn't find their presence overwheming. Well, not really [I just blocked it out]. There are a whole lot of zombie-like people. I can understand the good reviews. But I just didn't enjoy it.
Spiritually, it was stretched to the limit
It was obviously written by a Christian, and my hope is it will get better in Rancid.
I picked this story up for free at least a year and a half ago. I sent it directly to my android app, since I loved the cover and thought the theme sounded intriguing. I gobbled down the introduction and first chapter or so, and then the POV changed to a completely different character who I didn't identify with ... so I put it down and read something else.
Ever so often I would pull it back up and read another chapter, but for some reason, I couldn't connect to the story. It was following three very different characters on three very different paths, and I couldn't stay interested.
The other day, however, I stumbled across it on my new kindle, and since I really wanted to finish the book, pulled it up, prepared to plow through another chapter - except that suddenly the three stories converged and I was now interested! I finished the book that very day.
The three main characters are Kai, Lizzy, and Taryn. Kai is the son of a crippled race jockey, and his younger sister is sick with the plague. He wants to find a cure for her, and also achieve the fame that his father lost. Lizzy is the daughter of traveling musicians, who doesn't measure up to her older brother. She desperately wants to prove herself to her parents and earn their love. Taryn wants power. He thinks he has natural magic - and some of the people from the temple he talked with seemed to confirm it. There's also a wind spirit named Foehn, who was an interesting character.
The uniting issue they face is the fact that the water is poisoned.
Kai seemed to be the main character, but unfortunately, I didn't connect to him, much preferring Lizzy's and Foehn's stories. So I kept wandering away from this book.
And then the three protagonists met, and from that moment on, I couldn't put the book down, and by the time I'd finished, it was on my list of the best Christian Fantasies I've ever read. The worldbuilding was amazing, though weird at moments (Zombie - I mean, Untwanted army anyone?). The plot moved quickly, and twisted enough I couldn't tell how it was going to end. And the Christian message was well done.
This was not an allegory. Yes, there was a Jesus figure, but he belonged to the world's history. I was really impressed with this, since prior to this book, I don't think I'd ever read a fantasy that had dealt with our Lord's Sacrifice and had chosen to treat it as history. It didn't loose any of its power for that, and it still played a huge role in the plot.
I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone.
This book was recommended to me by another author in the Indie Christian publishing circles, so I decided to take a chance.
Plot – A
The plot of saving a dying world from an evil sorcerer may not be one of the most original in the range of fantasy plots, but I thought Lucas did a good job of making it her own. I didn’t feel that I was reading a rehash of a classic fantasy offering, which is always a good thing in my book. There was a distinct storyline that was completed in this book but the cliffhanger was written in such a way that I felt like there should have been more, which is a good way to make me want the next book if only to see what happens next. )
Content – B-
There is no sensuality present in this book. The only language present is found in Kai’s humorous utterances – all inoffensive horse-related “swearing” such as “Stallion stalls.”
The main characters, Kai, Lizzy, and Taryn, do bicker constantly. Even after they’ve been reprimanded multiple times by two different characters, they fight and argue to the point that it really got on my nerves. It was extremely frustrating when these three teenagers (I also wasn’t sure how old they were except that Kai was probably the oldest) would work together for a page or two and I thought they making progress as far as maturity and then it was right back to the squabbling and screaming at each other. This wishy-washy footing with each other is also reflected in their spiritual journey. The spirituality is very clear in this book. There is a clear difference being drawn between the magic fueled by spells and the abilities given by Adoyni and Lesa the divine Prince who paid for freedom of the world with His life. The allegorical aspect is very clear and there is an interesting choice of turning a wind into a character, but the chapters written from his point of view were well done. The worship of Adoyni has essentially faded but while each of the main characters make a decision to believe in Him at different points in the book, they all immediately go back to being wishy-washy and turning back to the goddess. This is a huge frustration in regards to one character who believes then backpedals then believes then backpedals then believes then backpedals right until the very end. I can understand them struggling to keep the faith but I wish “one step forward, two steps back” didn’t apply to all three of them in regards to their interactions with each other and their spiritual journey. I really wanted to see at least one characters stay firm and help the other two stay firm in their own journeys.
There is a LOT of violence and darkness in this book. There are murders, people dying of poisoned water, bloody wounds, and a zombie army. Let me be clear that I despise zombies, I don’t like them on TV, film, or in books. HOWEVER, the Unwanted as they are called are not really the Hollywood type of zombies. At least, they don’t want brains and they can do more than shuffle so I could tolerate them more than usual. They are specifically described in legend as being caught between heaven and hell. These zombies also have black blood that spurts when they get a limb chopped off. There is one character who is badly injured twice and eventually dies from their wounds. Another character is described as losing so much blood from a head wound, I was a bit surprised that they lasted as long without true medical attention even from the head wound. There is also a human sacrifice scene, that wasn’t graphic.
Technical – A-
This book was well-edited. I think there were only three places where there was a punctuation error – a period missing or an extra space was between the opening quotation mark and the word. There were some issues with the narration. First, when we jumped to a different secondary narrator for a few sections, it was so far into the book that it felt a bit jarring to me. Second, one of the biggest difficulties for multiple narrators in the same place is avoiding the “I just went through all this with the other character” feeling, and while this particular sensation was avoided, there were pacing issues because we kept jumping back in time with the narrator switches, especially in regards to the final battle.
Final Grade – B or 4 stars
Overall, the book was okay. I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it. There were some interesting decisions in regards to the narrators. But, I liked the feel of a fantasy world with winged horses (Archippos) and good and evil locked in conflict. The zombies…I can tolerate them this time. I do hope the more irritating aspects for the heroes’ characters are grown out of over the course of the next book. I will probably read Book Two just to find out what happens. I recommend this book for fans of fantasy books dealing with spiritual warfare and those who like Christian fantasy employing zombies. Recommended for ages 15 and up.
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