Julie's Review: Rasner's Revenge: Rasner Effect III

Summary: Mercenary Rick Rasner is a survivor. His current mission-revenge. Rick is trapped in an asylum with a delusional roommate and guards who want to kill him. His one goal: escape and inflict vengeance on the man who put him there, presidential hopeful, General William P. Straker. Unfortunately, no one knows Rick is alive, except for one fifteen-year-old old girl. Clara Blue is a recent escapee from the Brookhill Children's Psychiatric residence. She is also now the reluctant leader of an aspiring mercenary group made up of fellow escapees. Clara's only interest is in freeing her anointed dad from that asylum, if only she had the know-how, or her new allies were willing to help in this task. Clara's plan: hire the only other mercenary she knows, Jake Scarberry, the man who spent years as Rick's mortal enemy. Even if Clara can convince Jake to help, and they succeed, will Rick prove to be the parental figure she envisions? And what happens should he find out the ultimate betrayal Clara committed when she escaped Brookhill? ~amazon.com

Review: I will say this, Mark Rosendorf definitely knows how to write sociopaths! I just hope he hasn't written these characters from experience and more from his imagination! Rasner's Revenge begins from where Without Hesitation left off. Clara and her band of rag-tag Duke Organization attempt to pull off their first job. So, what can go wrong, does go wrong. Clara is the sanest of these girls and she's a little off.

In the past couple books, I've felt for Clara by the middle of this book, I wanted to slap her. It's not that I didn't feel sorry for her, it's that I wanted her to take control of her life and step up to the plate. Sure she's only 15 but she's also been through a lot and to root for her, you want her to be in charge of her life. Maybe she just doesn't know how or have the skills to do this at this point in her life.

Rick Rasner is as delusional and angry as ever, just the way we like our psychos. Rick is always trying to break out of somewhere and this time it's an asylum. He's got a crazy bunk mate and General Straker is still keeping tabs on him.

We also have mercenary Jake Scarberry back in the mix. This time though he's on Rick's side. You see he was hired by Clara to help break Rick out of the asylum. Funny how your past always comes back to haunt you. Or in Jake's case, how your career comes back to haunt you. Is Jake really on the up and up with Clara and Rick or does he have something up his sleeve.

There's also the venerable General Straker. Now, this guy is supposed to be a hero but he's more psychotic that Rick Rasner and that's saying something. Will General Straker and Rick Rasner finally come to blow? Will they both live? Die?

What I love about these Rasner adventures is that there is no clear cut bad guy/good guy. I found myself vacilating between rooting for Rasner/Clara, Jake and even General Straker. In a novel where the heroine doesn't believe in herself, it's hard to believe in her. In the end you want her to be ok but in the process you want to shake her and say "Get a hold of yourself."

What I would love to see is a novel or novels on Jake Scarberry. I think know so little about him and I would like to know more.

If you are looking for an action/adventure/thriller series, then definitely go for Mark Rosendorf's Rick Rasner novels.

Final Take: 4.5/5

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations to Heidi V for winning the autographed copies of The Rasner Effect and Without Hesitation by Mark Rosendorf.

Please email me (Julie) your mailing address so Mr. Rosendorf can send these off to you as soon as possible.

Thanks to all of you for participating. As always, I used Random.org to produce the winner.

Giveaway: Rasner Effect and Without Hesitation: Rasner Effect II

Mark Rosendorf is kindly letting us give away an autographed set of his series The Rasner Effect. To read Julie's Reviews click Rasner Effect and Without Hesitation

Please provide the reason you'd like to receive Mark's book in the comments section. You have until Sunday, March 7th at Midnight EST to enter the contest.

Good luck!!

Guest Blog: Mark Rosendorf

Last week I reviewed a sequel called Without Hesitation: Rasner Effect II by Mark Rosendorf. I'm thrilled that Mark has taken time out of his schedule to put together this guest blog.

Last night, I received a review for my second book, “Without Hesitation: The Rasner Effect II,” where the reviewer questioned my sanity. For a writer, this is the ultimate compliment. “Doubtful that a sane mind could ever come up with the twists and turns in these scenes,” she said.

While I enjoyed the comment, it wasn’t anything new. People who know me have been questioning my sanity for years. For the sake of our friendships, I’m going to assume they mean it in the same tongue and cheek way this reviewer does. It brings up the question, though, what kind of a mind do you need to write? Does the quote, “You don’t have to be insane to work here, but it helps” ring true when it comes to writing thrillers?

In my day job, I work as a guidance counselor in the New York City school system at a specialized high school for students who are classified as emotionally disturbed. What makes them so different from everyone else? We all have crazy thoughts. We all have impulses to say or do whatever we want. Of course, we can’t, society frowns on that. My students, however, never learned how to control those impulses. Where we think about revenge and say, “how I wish I could do that,” they act on it, and then suffer the consequences of their actions.

My job, and that of the school, is to work with these teens and try to teach them the social skills they need to fit into society. Part of the training is to teach them that life is not like books or movies, and they can’t always act on their impulses. But, imagine if they could. Imagine if we could. I know I imagine the possibility. In fact, I act on those urges all the time, in my writing. We all have those violent fantasies whenever someone gets on our last nerve, it’s normal to imagine. It’s the reason why the actions of Rick Rasner, Jake Scarberry, Jennifer Duke, even Clara Blue, bring as much admiration as it does scorn for the characters.

Which category do you fit in? Would you hold contempt towards the characters of The Rasner Effect, or live vicariously through them? What would it be like to live in a world where the rules of society don’t apply to you? A never-ending adrenalin rush or an aggressive weight on the conscience? Maybe both?

In the real world, of course, we’d all be disgusted, ostracized and arrested by this sort of behavior. But that’s what makes the fiction world so different.

To see what else is going on in Mark's life, check out his website at Mark Rosendorf.

Julie's Review: Without Hesitation: Rasner Effect II

Summary:After two years in the Brookhill Childrens’ Psychiatric residence, Clara Blue is ready to leave, but at what cost? Clara is back in the Brookhill residence after Rick Rasner and the Duke Organization laid waste to the facility and liberated her as one of their own. She went willingly, seeing this rogue mercenary group as the accepting family she’d sought after her entire young life. The dream came to an abrupt end, however, when rival mercenary, Jake Scarberry, attacked the Duke Organization’s headquarters. The battle’s climax left Rick for dead, the group in ruins, and saw Clara sent back to the Brookhill facility. Now, consumed with regaining her freedom, her constant escape attempts and delusional hallucinations keep Clara distracted and ostracized by the new staff and patients alike. As the Brookhill residence recovers, Rick’s co-leader, Jennifer Duke, arrives under the guise of a therapist. With her presence, Clara is sure rescue is imminent. But Jen is there for another reason as well, one that scares Clara. Only Jake Scarberry has a chance of halting Jen’s nefarious plans, IF he can be coaxed out of the solace of civilian life. ~amazon.com

Review: In the fall I read and reviewed, The Rasner Effect and really enjoyed it. It was a great psychological thriller. I was thrilled when Mark contacted me about reading and reviewing the sequel, Without Hesitation. The sequel, picks up a few months after the first book and lands us back at the Brookhill Childrens' Psychological Hospital with a new Director. Clara Blue is still acting up and finding herself in isolation a lot. To be honest I don't think she really cares if she lands in there.

Clara is a reluctant heroine. What I mean is you really do want to root for her but she's not always likable. She's got major anger issues and some violent tendencies that really come to a head in this book. Enter Jennifer Duke, the most violent, vile and psychotic character I have ever read about. She's scares the crap out of me. She's just plain evil. Well she's come back to Brookhill to break Clara Blue and a band of misfits out. You see she might not like Clara, but Rick brought her into the fold and she has to honor that. What Clara wants most is just to get out of Brookhill and be free at any cost and by any association.

Jake Scarberry is also back. For the last 3 months he's been living the civilian life and once he's brought back in, it's like he's never left. You see Jake still wants to avenge his brother's death by the hands of the Duke Organization and well Jennifer Duke is still available to satisfy that need.

I will have to say that this book is a bit more gory and violent that the first one but since I read the first one, I knew it wasn't going to be all rainbows and sunshine.

My concern for Clara is that she's entering a world that she'll never get out of and this world only feeds her violent side. With no family to reign you back in you go astray. You root for her but you also cringe because you know that this just can't end well for her.

As with most thrillers, I can't really delve into details because well it would give away all the plot points that the author would love for you to read on your own. I will say there a quite a few twists that I didn't see coming.

I will say that each time I read a book or watch a movie about children and psychological issues, it makes my heart wrench. It's just so heart breaking that these kids are discarded as social pariahs, when maybe the system is the real issue.

As a fan of the TV show ALIAS, I always picture Brookhill as the psychiatric hospital Sydney was in during Season One. It's probably because Brookhill seems so archaic and that one definitely was.

This is a sequel that doesn't disappoint. I want to thank Mr. Mark Rosendorf for having his publisher send it to me. Now knowing there is a 3rd in the works; I can't wait to see what Clara and Jake do next.

As a side note, with Shutter Island being released this weekend, I think that more and more readers will want books with a psychiatric hospital as the setting.

Final Take: 4/5

Author Interview: Mark Rosendorf

Earlier this week I posted my
review for The Rasner Effect by Mark Rosendorf. I'm excited that he's taken time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions.

GJR: I’ve always heard, “write what you know” and it seems like psychosis is something that you know from your field of study and experience. Was this book easy for you to write?

MR: I don’t think any book is easy to write. The entire process from writing to publication, for me, was as challenging as it was rewarding. My experience as a counselor working extensively with emotionally impaired students (and at times, the workers) with psychotic tendencies, however, has certainly helped me to develop the personalities of the characters and show their internal rationalizations. Many of the anti-social tendencies that I’ve worked with are present in both the Duke Organization members and in the Brookhill facility.

GJR: Have you ever met someone who is similar to Rick Rasner in your work? If so, how scared were you? With those types of personalities it seems like they are a walking time bomb, did you find this to be true?

MR: I’ve certainly worked with my share of Rick Rasner-types, but never anyone to his extreme. He, and other characters in The Rasner Effect, have aggressively enhanced personality types, not to mention some are trained assassins. Luckily, I haven’t dealt with any of THOSE yet.

I find it interesting that no matter how my students act on the streets, they tend to show a calmer side in the school. At home, life is inconsistent and there are very few adults who care about them. In our specialized small school setting, our kids get consistency and adults who want to see them succeed. They know this and many of them react positively to a constructive environment. Unfortunately, if the environment is overwhelmingly negative, and I’ve worked in a few of those schools as well, the kids will react negatively.

The one character who is a good example of children I’ve worked with is Clara Blue. Many of our students come from poor and difficult urban backgrounds. By their teenage years, they’ve assimilated into their environment, but you get a few that do know there are better lifestyles out there and want something more for themselves. Unfortunately, they’re not in a position to achieve success, not without a great deal of help. That help is very hard to come by. Clara Blue, trapped in the Brookhill Children’s Psychiatric residence, fits that mold.

GJR: The book for me touches on a bit of conspiracy theory regarding the government, was that your intent? Do you think something like what Dr. Obenchain did to Rick exists in some form?

MR: I do believe the government tells us what they want us to know and keeps us in the dark about the rest. I’ve seen it firsthand. Prior to my career as a guidance counselor, I worked in the hotel industry. In that time, I worked in many hotels while attending college. One hotel I worked in housed the crew of an international airline company from overseas as they flew to and from the United States on a regular basis.

We had major issues with one of the co-pilots who got into a great deal of trouble each time he stayed with us. We had to kick him out of the hotel many times, but the airline company kept sending him back. One evening, before getting on the bus that took them to the airport, he handed all of his money to the bellman that loaded his luggage and said, “I won’t need this anymore.”

That night, the plane went down, taking hundreds of passengers with it.

The FBI stayed in our hotel for a month conducting their investigation. We all told them our dealings with this co-pilot. Meanwhile, the staff of the hotel, were told that if reporters called or showed up asking us for information, we were to tell them nothing, otherwise, we would lose our jobs and we could get arrested for interfering with a federal investigation.

It took 2 and a half years before the FBI’s findings about the plane crash were made public. They basically said it was engine trouble.

I understood the reasoning behind the story given to the public. Just imagine the panic the truth would have caused, not to mention, the financial harm to the airline industry. But, since this incident, I’ve held some skepticism towards the news. Are they always telling us everything? Would it be that hard to lie to us? I’m not saying this is the case, I’m just saying that the idea was a big influence on the conspiracy aspect of The Rasner Effect.

GJR: Your book has some pretty disturbing scenes, do you think that art imitates life or life imitates art?

MR: It’s interesting how both can apply. When the movie Independence Day came out, and we saw the buildings fall, I remember thinking “Wow, this looks so real.” Then, during the horrors of 9/11 hitting us here in New York, I remember seeing the Twin Towers fall and saying “Wow, this looks like a movie scene.”

GJR: If The Rasner Effect was made into a movie, who would be your ideal Rick? Obenchain? Jake? Jennifer? Clara?

MR: Wow, that’s a tough question. Frankly, I’d be so ecstatic if The Rasner Effect was turned into a movie, I’d be thrilled even if they told me the Geico lizard was playing the lead role.

If I had a choice, I think international actor, David Tennant could do Rick Rasner justice. For Jennifer Duke: Lara Gilchrist. When I saw her on Battlestar Galactica, I thought, “Wow, her smirk is exactly how I envision and describe Jen’s.” If she goes blonde, and I have a say, she can have the part.

GJR: Are you currently working on another novel? What is the basic premise? Will we see any of the characters from The Rasner Effect return?

MR: “Without Hesitation: The Rasner Effect II” has been set for release by my publisher, L&L Dreamspell, in late January, 2010 (wow, that date is creeping up fast). Also, in 2010, L&L Dreamspell has an anthology coming out called “Cat in the Dreamspell” featuring a short story by me titled “Cat in the cockpit.” Unlike The Rasner Effect series, this is a very campy story that has a twilight zone-feel to it.

I’ll be adding information on those, plus other writing projects, to my website, markrosendorf.

GJR: Who are your favorite authors to read? Why?

MR: I don’t base my readings on authors, rather on the premise of the story. If it’s one that intrigues me, I’ll read it. If the concept doesn’t grab me, then I won’t read it even if it is written by an author whose work I enjoy.

The authors who I have read consistently include H.G. Wells, Stephen King, Stephen Baxter, Douglas Adams and a little bit of Mark Rosendorf.

GJR: What are you currently reading?

MR: At this time, I am reading “Flood” by Stephen Baxter and Eoin Colfer’s new sequel to one of my all-time favorite series, “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” titled “And Another Thing…” It’s just a shame Douglas Adams is no longer alive to have written the sixth book himself.

GJR: Where do you write and what is your typical writing process?

MR: My ideas work like lightning, one brilliant flash, and then it’s gone. That’s why I always keep a notepad on me, ready for when that idea pops into my head. I never know when that will happen, but I have to be ready. One of the weirder places my creativity takes over is in the shower. Because of this, I keep a notepad and a pen hanging in the bathroom on the wall outside the shower door. Luckily, I’m left handed and the shower door is on my left so it’s easy to reach out with that arm and write the thought down.

GJR: What author’s have influenced/inspired you?

MR: Stephen King was a big influence on my becoming a writer. I always loved the way his writing was so descriptive I could picture the scene in my head. “Misery” was the first of his books I read as part of my senior high school English thesis. The topic was about extreme personalities causing extreme situations (the other book I read for this thesis was Robert Bloch’s “Psycho”).

At the time, I had no idea I would find a career as a school counselor for students with emotional disabilities, nor did I know I’d end up writing novels about characters who have extreme personalities and cause extreme situations. Either the experience of putting that thesis together influenced all my future decisions more than I realized…or it’s all one huge coincidence.

Thanks to Mark for taking the time to answer the questions and Paula Krapf at Author Marketing Experts for sending the book and hooking us up with Mark.

Julie's Review: The Rasner Effect

Summary: Rick Rasner escaped death in a New York City bridge explosion - but he couldn't escape becoming an unwitting participant in a top secret military experiment. When the Duke Organization, a group of ruthless killers, set off a violent explosion, they wiped out Rick Rasner's life as he knew it. Many years later, as he still struggled to remember any shred of his former existence, he put a new life together - as a therapist in the Brookhill Children's Psychiatric Residence, a facility for troubled urban teens. Brookhill's policies, set by head director Katherine Miller, seemed brutal and oppressive. She bullied the therapists too - Rick's meek personality left him incapable of handling her attacks. He developed an unexplainable bond with fifteen-year-old patient Clara Blue - something about her conflicted, volatile personality struck a cord deep inside his psyche. Rick wanted to help her and the other patients, yet met with non-stop opposition from the staff. The Duke Organization resurfaced, searching for Rick Rasner. When they found him at the Brookhill facility a bloody hostage situation ensued. The lives of both Rick and Clara were about to change - but for the better or worse? Disgraced mercenary Jake Scarberry was forced out of the witness protection program and back into action - after the Duke Organization. An unpredictable chain of events result between Jake, Rick, and the Duke Organization - and Clara Blue. This complex psychological suspense/thriller will leave you questioning exactly who to root for in a battle of good versus evil. ~amazon.com

Review: Have you ever read a book where it haunts you? I don't mean in a supernatural way but in a very real "this can happen way"? Well that's The Rasner Effect by Mark Rosendorf. This book gave me nightmares and made me think about how we view and treat children with psychological disorders. I understand that some should be locked up but they should still be treated like humans. I don't ever think that violence is the answer but I do believe in defending yourself, but sometimes there are fine lines.

While Rick Rasner is the main character in the book, it is 15 year old Clara Blue that intrigues me. She's a classic case of Nature vs. Nurture. Brookhill Psychiatric Hospital is an god awful place and the director, is a nasy woman.

This book is an edge of your seat book. You wonder what is going to happen and you know it's not going to be good.

There is just one part that I'm not sure it would be as quick as what it happened but as in most fiction, you do need to suspend belief at times to keep the story moving. And the end is a bit disturbing as well but plausible, unfortunately.

This book is part Girl, Interrupted and Conspiracy Theory and even throws in home grown terrorists/mercenaries.

I really don't want to say too much because it'll blow the plot. So if you are looking for a fast paced, edge of your seat, intriguing book The Rasner Effect should be put on your list.

Final Take: 4/5