Review of The final Shortcut

I want to share another fabulous review from the Amazon.com website. Thanks to DrDR, I am very pleased that you enjoyed it, I hope that I gave you a few OMG moments.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, May 15, 2012
By
DrDR - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Final Shortcut (Paperback)
So many books take multiple chapters to even become remotely interesting, but I was hooked on Ray's novel by the end of the first paragraph. The story continues to deliver by being extremely well developed and thought out. There is enough character development that i had no trouble picturing the characters and the scenery with perfect clarity. At the same time, Ray doesnt waste your time describing mundane, useless information that makes you want to wait for the movie. The book simply STAYS interesting in that classic "can't put it down" quality. The story is unbelievably believable, and makes you think this could really happen. One pet peeve of mine with horror stories and "slashers" is the gratuity with which slayings are handed out, and the lack of rationale and motive behind the mayhem. The character "Junior" is so well developed that you actually empathize with him. In fact, I found myself agreeing with him and justifying his actions....at times. I'm very impressed with Ray's story-telling ability. The story flows smoothly, is interesting, captivating, pleasantly demented, and a lot of fun. I can't wait to see if Junior comes back for round two.

That motley drama- oh, be sure
   It shall not be forgot!
With its Phantom chased for evermore,
   By a crowd that seize it not,
Through a circle that ever returneth in
   To the self-same spot,
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,
   And Horror the soul of the plot.

But see, amid the mimic rout
   A crawling shape intrude!
A blood-red thing that writhes from out
   The scenic solitude!
It writhes!- it writhes!- with mortal pangs
   The mimes become its food,
And seraphs sob at vermin fangs
   In human gore imbued.

Edgar Allan Poe
(excerpt from The Conqueror Worm 1843)

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1QELPCE69YV9X/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B007P6L8IA&nodeID=133140011&store=digital-text

I just received this review and I had to pass it on. I am honored to be compared to one of my main influences, Stephen King. Thank you Anita, I hope to make your acquaintance some day.

Spine-Tingling Good Story, December 28, 2012

By 

The Kindle Book Review

This review is from: The Final Shortcut (Kindle Edition)

"The Final Shortcut" by G. Bernard Ray is one great scary story. If the genre of horror is your favorite then you will want to read this book.

Junior is a troubled young man that had a difficult childhood. At the age of 5 his parents attended Woodstock. One night while they were partying and Junior was sleeping the couple camping next to them made some tea from hallucinogenic mushrooms laced with LSD that they all drank. Unbeknownst to everyone Junior woke up and went outside to see what everyone was up to. He saw a glass partially filled with liquid and being 5 and thirsty he drank some. Of course the liquid wasn't just any liquid but the `special' tea. He wandered off and when he was found a few hours later he was in trouble. He was rushed to the hospital and his life was saved but that drink of tea cost him dearly. His face was permanently deformed and it was thought he would always be a special needs child. Finally the day came when he would attend school and be around other kids...this is when his troubles really began.

One problem Junior had was his temper; he had a hard time controlling it and would often go into rages. As he grew older he found that when he became stressed he would get a headache also and the only thing that would help is to kill; killing seemed to make everything better. As the years went by he added more acreage to the family land, he reinforced the old mine that he and his father found, he built the mansion of hunting shacks, wired everything for security...all so he could hide and enjoy what he did best...kill. There is so much more to this story than Junior's killing but I do not want to give anything away.

"The Final Shortcut" is a well-written horror story. In this book you do not get pages of details about each killing as you would find in a hack and slash movie and that is what makes this story even scarier. The adage of `less is more' is true here. I started this book and from page one I was hooked and stayed that way until I turned the final page. It is hard to describe how scary this book really is. What made this book so good is Mr. Ray did not bog the reader down with useless details about every kill Junior made; he gave just what was needed to tell that part of the story and that is what made the story even better.

If you are a fan of the horror genre, if you are a fan of well-written stories, if you are a fan of being scared by the stories you read then "The Final Shortcut" is the book for you. This book reminds me of earlier works by Stephen King, Dean Koontz, or John Saul...if you are a fan of and enjoy these authors then you will enjoy and become a fan of G. Bernard Ray. "The Final Shortcut" is the first book by this talented author and if his future books are like this one then Mr. Ray will have a long career ahead of him.

5.0 stars

Anita (The Kindle Book Review)

The KBR received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. We are not connected with the author, publisher, or Amazon in any way.
 

Everybody loves a grisly Vampire tale and I am no exception. I grew up watching horror movies and reading the macabre tales of Poe, Hitchcock and many others.

 

My latest novel is, as you might guess, A    Vampire tale most grisly. It is almost ready to be submitted to the publisher.

 I apologize that I have taken so long, but I refuse to put anything out to my readers until it is ready. I write because I love to.

 I do not write for the sole purpose to sell books. So I am more involved with getting the story perfect before it is printed.

 This one will certainly not be a poofy teenage love story with fangs. Vampires are evil and I have written a tale about the

 ultimate, evil vampire.

This tale goes back to the origins 

of the Vampire legends.

 This will most definitely be the most original Vampire story that you will read. It has many twists in the plot and as per my usual style of storytelling, 

 I don't waste a lot of pages with mundane descriptions and filler. I like to hit you with an action packed story that does not let up until 

 the end. I have read a lot of books that waste a lot of time with fluff and nonsense. 
Once my story starts, it does
not stop until you do.

 Stay tuned for the release date, but don't hold your breath,

twill be done when 

is is done,not

a spine tingling moment

before.  

 Meanwhile, if you have not already, check out this thriller, chiller, psycho killer novel and come back for more.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Final-Shortcut-Bernard-Ray/dp/143278644X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351135111&sr=8-2&keywords=g+bernard+ray 

 This was posted earlier this year on some other sites.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47_NyfrptXk&feature=plcp

MY NEXT NOVEL!
The book that I am currently working on is nearly finished. I would like to give a date that it will be available, but I do not rush these things. You see it will be ready when it is ready. That is to say that when I am satisfied that I have built up the imagery and the action to the point that it can compare with my previous works, then it will be ready.
I will give the readers of this blog an exclusive teaser about it. I have not given out any details about book yet. There are too many ways for ideas to be stolen, and I do not wish to be bothered with a lot of legal involvement. This book is too close to being published.

This book is about a Vampire that is as old as creation. According to Hebrew Mythology, when the earth was created, God created Man and Woman. But in this legend there was a woman created that was not the type of woman the God had intended, her name was Lilith and she was Adam's first wife. She did not submit to Adam and was pushed aside. God then made another woman, Eve.
Everyone knows the story from here, but the interesting part of this is that there are many literate references to Lilith. She is also suspected have taken the form of the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

This relief has a figure in the tree that has a woman's upper torso and a serpent's tail. This is not the only art work on this subject.  The serpent tempted Eve to eat the apple and they were all cast out of the Garden of Eden. Lilith then took her refuge on the banks of the Red Sea where she gave birth to multitudes of evil creatures. These abominations were summarily destroyed by the avenging angels. This is where my story takes it's inspiration. I built a characterization around an evil presence that began at the dawn of time. This evil demon then spread across the world.
If you look into folk stories about the origins of Vampires, you will find that many of the legends are very similar even though they come from a wide variety of countries and across a great many years and centuries.

How is it that a fictitious character can persist throughout all recorded history?
My book is about a vampire. ONE vampire that is the ultimate evil. His power is unimaginable, he is an immortal and lives to feed on the living. He is the reason that humans are afraid of the dark! This story tells of an ancient secret society of devout religious characters that have killed every vampire in existence.  However the original, immortal vampire can not be killed so he has been captured, staked, and locked in a secure mausoleum. This crypt is located in a small, remote convent in Italy where it is guarded by specially trained Nuns.( I will not let out anymore details about the Nuns, but understand that these are not school teachers and nurses, they are Vampire Hunters!)

The story begins when a violent storm damages the crypt and allows the Vampire to escape. (They always escape don't they?)
Then the chase is on and it leads from Italy to the South East US where the vampire ravages the countryside leaving mangled corpses in his wake. But of course that is not all. There is another sub plot, there are many interesting characters and a lot of suspense!
This story is quite original and it takes the Vampire creature back to the evil, vile and menacing creature that it is supposed to be. No more teenage, poofy, love sick vampires that are trying to get married and raise a family. Yuck!

As I mentioned before, It will be finished when I am satisfied with the story. It looks as though this book will be about 400 pages and if you have read my first novel, then you know that I do not waste time with useless information. Once the chase is on, it continues to escalate until the tense, action packed conclusion.  There are a lot of truly scary sequences, plenty of tense action, and as per my usual, a good bit of dark, tongue in cheek humor. After all, it is an inherently funny image when you think of Vampire hunting nuns with martial arts training.

Come back for more and follow my posts here and on this page. Thanks and I wish you bad dreams!
hlhttps://www.facebook.com/GBernardRayNovelist?ref=hl

I am currently trying to attract a literary agent to represent me. The process of putting in query letters is as daunting a task as is writing a novel. I find it very difficult to squeeze the synopsis of my books down to a single paragraph. But I feel confident that I will succeed. All the reviews for "The Final Shortcut" have been stellar, so I am sure that it will work its way out to everyone eventually.  But an agent would be nice. 
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B008AJ9FMC 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-final-shortcut-g-bernard-ray/1109520760?ean=9781432786441&r=1& 

 

The Press Release!




http://www.free-press-release.com/news-macabre-murderer-unearthed-the-final-shortcut-published-by-outskirts-press-1334872823.html

 This is a travel blog that I have been writing to for about seven years. Check it out, you might find it interesting. This has information about Saint Kitts, New Orleans, Guadalajara, Panama city Panama, Mexico city and dozens more. I have traveled a LOT. Take a look....




http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/cfc89/

 ...and visit my Novelist webpage for the current information about my thriller novels. The first one is doing well and the second one is nearly finished.
https://www.facebook.com/GBernardRayNovelist

My first novel

My first novel the Final Shortcut is selling well. Get your copy and see what the others are talking about.
It is a taut, tense psycho killer novel that will grab hold of you it doesn't let go until the very end.
Find it here and get you copy today.
Paperback, Kindle, Ebook (downladable to any comp device as a pdf)

http://www.amazon.com/The-Final-Shortcut-Bernard-Ray/dp/143278644X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348753464&sr=8-2&keywords=g+bernard+ray

 All castles are not in Europe. This one is very famous south of the US border. The Castillo de Santa Cecillia is a prominent landmark in Guajuanato. The city is the cradle of the Mexican revolution.

There is history of the Spanish conquerors, and a period where they experienced the Spanish Inquisition.  There are many museums and historical exhibits throughout the city.
There is also an earthly feature there that transforms those interned into mummies! The minerals in the soil infuse into the bones of the dead and create these creepy carcasses.

 This was absolutely the strangest and most genuinely creepy places I have ever been.
There is an amazing amount of history there aside from the mummies. The Mexican Revolution, The Spanish Conquistadors, and a legend of unrequited love and murder that is told at the "Callejon de los Besos." or the Alleyway of the Kisses. It is an amazing place for a history fan and a must see for a fan of the macabre.
Come back soon for some pictures of the Medieval torture chambers and more mummies! 

A dark, horrific secret lies buried in the serenity of Kentucky's Bluegrass Mountains. A deformed, psychotic, madman stalks the road ways of Bontonville for his next victim. His huge family property connects two highways with a private shortcut known only to him. He lures truckers and travelers into his private hell where he ruthlessly attacks them, hides their vehicles and disposes of their bodies in an immense underground lair where they become part of his deliciously macabre collection. For over twenty years not a shred of evidence has ever escaped his maniacal control. Until one day a federal undercover agent working on a case in the next county, stumbles on a clue that erupts into an intense, deadly chase to catch the most heinous killer in local history. "The Final Shortcut" is a fiction thriller novel that will grab you from the very first moment and you won't be able to put it down. Not since "Silence of the Lambs" has there been a novel so enthralling, imaginative, gruesome and bizarre. This is a tale with engaging characters, a realistic plot with many unexpected turns and a suspenseful, action-packed ending that will leave you exhausted.

G.B. Ray has traveled the globe from the USA to China, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. He's lived in three foreign countries and visited at least a dozen more. His stories are shaped by this experience and from his love for the horror genre. An avid reader and movie fan, he weaves his tales with imagination and believability. He writes in a cinematic style that places you in the middle of the action, and the horror. This lifelong obsession and a uniquely overactive imagination will surely make him your new favorite author.

MY NEXT NOVEL!
The book that I am currently working on is nearly finished. I would like to give a date that it will be available, but I do not rush these things. You see it will be ready when it is ready. That is to say that when I am satisfied that I have built up the imagery and the action to the point that it can compare with my previous works, then it will be ready.
I will give the readers of this blog an exclusive teaser about it. I have not given out any details about book yet. There are too many ways for ideas to be stolen, and I do not wish to be bothered with a lot of legal involvement. This book is too close to being published.

This book is about a Vampire that is as old as creation. According to Hebrew Mythology, when the earth was created, God created Man and Woman. But in this legend there was a woman created that was not the type of woman the God had intended, her name was Lilith and she was Adam's first wife. She did not submit to Adam and was pushed aside. God then made another woman, Eve.
Everyone knows the story from here, but the interesting part of this is that there are many literate references to Lilith. She is also suspected have taken the form of the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

This relief has a figure in the tree that has a woman's upper torso and a serpent's tail. This is not the only art work on this subject.  The serpent tempted Eve to eat the apple and they were all cast out of the Garden of Eden. Lilith then took her refuge on the banks of the Red Sea where she gave birth to multitudes of evil creatures. These abominations were summarily destroyed by the avenging angels. This is where my story takes it's inspiration. I built a characterization around an evil presence that began at the dawn of time. This evil demon then spread across the world.
If you look into folk stories about the origins of Vampires, you will find that many of the legends are very similar even though they come from a wide variety of countries and across a great many years and centuries.

How is it that a fictitious character can persist throughout all recorded history?
My book is about a vampire. ONE vampire that is the ultimate evil. His power is unimaginable, he is an immortal and lives to feed on the living. He is the reason that humans are afraid of the dark! This story tells of an ancient secret society of devout religious characters that have killed every vampire in existence.  However the original, immortal vampire can not be killed so he has been captured, staked, and locked in a secure mausoleum. This crypt is located in a small, remote convent in Italy where it is guarded by specially trained Nuns.( I will not let out anymore details about the Nuns, but understand that these are not school teachers and nurses, they are Vampire Hunters!)

The story begins when a violent storm damages the crypt and allows the Vampire to escape. (They always escape don't they?)
Then the chase is on and it leads from Italy to the South East US where the vampire ravages the countryside leaving mangled corpses in his wake. But of course that is not all. There is another sub plot, there are many interesting characters and a lot of suspense!
This story is quite original and it takes the Vampire creature back to the evil, vile and menacing creature that it is supposed to be. No more teenage, poofy, love sick vampires that are trying to get married and raise a family. Yuck!

As I mentioned before, It will be finished when I am satisfied with the story. It looks as though this book will be about 400 pages and if you have read my first novel, then you know that I do not waste time with useless information. Once the chase is on, it continues to escalate until the tense, action packed conclusion.  There are a lot of truly scary sequences, plenty of tense action, and as per my usual, a good bit of dark, tongue in cheek humor. After all, it is an inherently funny image when you think of Vampire hunting nuns with martial arts training.

Come back for more and follow my posts here and on this page. Thanks and I wish you bad dreams!
hlhttps://www.facebook.com/GBernardRayNovelist?ref=hl

I know that it very braggadocios of me to post these reviews of my book....I really do. But I just can't resist doing it. All the reviews for this book have been great. I am extremely happy about this in many ways. I am certainly happy that the readers like it, and I certainly hope that I sell a lot of books. But the most important thing about it to me is that I now have ample confirmation, from people that aren't my friends, that my writing is good! That is what pleases me most! I makes me want to write every day, and I have been busy. I am about to finish a 400+ page Vampire tale (mean, evil, vampires, no twilight poofery here) and I have dashed off a couple new short stories as well. I can't wait to get started on some of the other book outlines that I already have. If you are a fan of my writing know this, I have a bunch of books just waiting to be written.
Take a look at these reviews for  THE FINAL SHORTCUT.

5.0 out of 5 stars waiting for the movie version, July 27, 2012

By 

pawleys - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Final Shortcut (Paperback)

Met G. at a grocery store and after a quick exchange of pleasantries (it's a southern thing)I said, "My Mom says with my life I should write a book." He said "I JUST DID!" He gave me the title and that was it, or so I thought.

Creepy and scarey, but it is so well written the circumstances make you pity Jr., almost (yikes).
Was considering a summer ride up to the Blue Ridge Parkway to beat the heat, think I'll stay at the beach instead!

The Final Shortcut will grab hold of you and not let go.

G. is such a talented writer I can't wait for his next book!

Highly recommend The Final Shortcut 

 

 

 

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful!, July 10, 2012

By 

KH - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Final Shortcut (Paperback)

Every time I had to put this book down I found myself wondering what Junior was up to while I was away. He does tend to reach out from the page, draw you in, and stay with you! While its genre is a departure from my norm, this book persuades me to want to read more like it, at least from this author. Mr. Ray does a wonderful balancing act, shocking and holding the reader while avoiding the graphic sex and violence that too often accompany this type of story. Smart humor, interesting characters, fun reading!

Thanks to KH and to PAWLEYS.

 I couldn't resist tabulating the viral reach of this creepy new blog. So far these are the countries that are looking in. It would be very cool if you would leave a comment and share a little of your world with us.

United States of America    United Kingdom      South Africa  

  Italy  Chile   India    Netherlands    Thailand
Uganda      Argentina    
Malaysia   Australia    South Korea  
Canada  Ireland  Poland  Spain  Brazil   

 Sweden Luxembourg

	Take a deep breath and continue.
Russia
Germany
Canada
United Kingdom
Turkey
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Belgium
Brazil
Ireland

I am extremely happy that so many are looking in.

Leave me a comment!

If you stop by and you like what you see, or if you don't, or if you are just checking out the creepy pictures, leave me a message and let's start a conversation. This page is quickly going viral and it has had hundreds of visits in only a few short weeks. Take a minute to send me some feedback and join the little community. Presently there are people visiting this from the USA, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Bosnia, India, Uganda,Ireland the UK as well, and many other countries around the globe. Interesting how a digital signal can reach so many places.

 Yes these are all real mummies and artifacts. The mummies are created because of the mineral content in the soil. The area has a lot of silver and something in the strata infuses with the bones of the dead and create these vexing statues.

 Saber toothed tigers! Yes they were real.

If you are still reading then you are still curious. Drop me a message and I will tell you where these unique photos came from. I assure you they are all real and in museums. I will give you a hint.

The city sits in the middle of a natural bowl high in the mountains. You can only get to it through a tunnel!

This is so very wrong, but I couldn't resist. It is not any sort of statement or political  attitude, it is just a crazy video. Only meant to raise a twisted grin on your face.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eh9XwSgCigc&list=FL_khNqB-9eM_sdu7OvW9oKg&index=19&feature=plpp_video


Check out the rest of my favorites on my YouTube Channel

More about The Final Shortcut.

The main character in The Final Shortcut is called Junior. He had some very traumatic experiences as a child and this unfortunately continued into his teens. This is the basis for his mental condition and this is what warped his little mind into a psycho killer. So initially his madness is not his fault, having been the culmination of his life's tragedies. And this fact has given many of my readers a somewhat sympathetic feeling toward Junior. I mean he is a sick, viscous killer. But many readers feel compassion for him and want another book about him. Go figure. I tried to paint him as an evil, ruthless murdering cannibal, and people feel sorry for him. Gotta love it. I am writing some notes about a possible sequel. But I will have to find some ideas and a hook that will set this apart from some other sequels. I abhor sequels when they crank out a story just to capitalize on the appeal of the first one. So rest assured that I will NOT put anything out there that is not as engaging and original as the first one.
To me, having people read my work and really enjoy is a great honor. I wasn't thinking about publishing anything when I started this book in 2002, yes it has been that long. (I finished it in 2004 and put it away until now) But now that it is out there and I am building a fan base, I will work very hard to honor thier love of my writing. If you hear that I am working on Junior Part II, then get ready for another crazy, twisted plot. It's what I do, I just can't help myself.

Stay tuned and come back for more updates.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47_NyfrptXk&feature=plcp