The Crystal Bridge (Lost Shards) [Kindle Edition]

I'll get the one thing off my chest that I didn't like about this book, and that was the number of characters and plotlines thrown at us at the beginning of the book. It first struck me as a bit much as the story lines seemed so unrelated. But as you continued reading they do all fall into two storylines that become interrelated. In the end, I was left satisfied with how they all came together and were independently resolved. But despite the fleshing out of several characters, there were three main characters.

The first is Kaden, a teenage high school boy who has the power and ability to open up worm holes to different worlds with the power of something he calls an egg. The idea of the egg is fantastic, and I loved it. Kaden is hesitant to use it because the one time he did he almost gets eaten by tiger-like creatures and he fails to bring anything through with him - including his clothes.

Things change when he meets Aren at his new school, a teenage girl who has an ability of her own. She has the ability to read people's minds. Actually, it is more than that. She can see into their soul, know their inner workings and secrets, and be able to devise quickly the character of somebody. She is also the only one who can see Kaden's egg. Accidently, she triggers the egg and transports them both to a new world.

Before long, they get separated, and Kaden and Aren try to find each other so they can both return to Earth. Meanwhile, they run across some different Elf- and Dwarf-like races as well as a group of humans who are about to be attacked by a powerful, God-like being. Kaden and Aren then get intermingled with their politics and society which fulfills the fantasy half of this story.

Then there is James. This is where we see the Science Fiction half of this story. James is a scientist who is hired to work for a secret, mysterious company to manipulate DNA. Charlie M. Pulsipher must study a lot of weird science because this point of view explains all the mysteries and "magic" in this story - even the magic in the fantasy side of the story. This is where wormhole theory is explained and Pulsipher writes a great story that could come right out of a Michael Crichton novel.

So there are plotlines in both our world and this new world that end up coming together and these three main characters (and their friends/counterparts) must solve the problems happening in both worlds.
As a bonus, I love how the story gets wrapped up. Again, more science but it also explains a lot of things that often go unresolved in most stories. For example, how do the people and creatures of the "other world" communicate with Kaden and Aren in English? Explained! Also, there is some foreshadowing throughout the book that comes to glorious fruition at the end and makes you think, "Ooooh, I get it now!" The ending had the resolution of many great unseen twists that I thought made the story fantstic.

I thought this was a great and brilliant book. I'm a slow reader, but I could not put this down for the last 30% of the book (causing me to stay up way past my bedtime and a drowsy day at work the next morning). Everything came together quite well. And with the Kindle version being priced at a reasonable $3.99, picking this up is a no-brainer.

It is primarily aimed at the young-adult crowd, but I found that people should find somebody to identify with into their 30's. I am roughly the same age as James and I found myself rooting for him the most and it wasn't because of his (fantastic) name. So I would recommend this to both genders between ages 14 and 40.

Despite my misgivings concerning the number of characters and the jumping around confusion that came from it I still give it five stars. For a debut novel, I thought it was quite solid and I look forward to future works from Mr. Pulsipher.

You know that feeling you get after reading a really great book? Well this is how this book made me feel. You turn the last page and take a deep breath. It's like you were sucked into the world and forgot to monitor your bodily functions. After that initial life-sustaining gasp, you realize that you probably better hurry up and go pee as well. Then you quell all the urges to harass the author about writing fast so that you can blissfully immerse yourself into his creations once again. I simply loved the novel. I enjoyed the fact that there was a lot of different heroes. I enjoyed the science and magic. I fell in love with the characters. The pace was great. There were a lot of surprises and it kept me guessing as to what would come next and how the characters would eventually be relevant to each other.

I want my own dragon.

This book had everything that a Sci-Fi/Fantasy lover would expect. Futuristic Science, Special Abilities, Dragons, Elves, Dwarfs and more. This is the kind of book that you need to set aside time to read because you don't want to put it down until you are done. I enjoyed the journey that this book creates for you.