Unbound (Book One of the Omega Trilogy) by J.B. Simmons

He must be released for a little while.

But the one who sees doesn't believe.

Elijah Goldsmith has nightmares he needs to ignore. Why would a rich kid from Manhattan dream three straight nights about a dragon and the destruction of St. Peter's Basilica? He's never even been to Rome.

It's bad timing, too. He's graduating soon and applying to be a spy in the International Security Agency. That's where he meets Naomi. She's the kind of girl who makes boys like Elijah want to share their secrets. Were they brought together to learn what his secrets mean? There's more to their sparks than they think.

This is 2066. The year the world ends.

About J.B. Simmons:

I live outside Washington, DC, with my wife, two toddlers, and an intriguing day job. In a few months, I’ll join the 3-kids-under-5 club. I write before dawn and run all day. My secret fuel: coffee and leftover juice boxes. 

Several years ago, late one night, I was sitting in a windowless office and toiling over a legal brief. It was a season of questions: why am I here, what am I doing? An answer struck like lightning: you are a writer. Ever since, I have felt peace when filling a page with words. 

The journey has led me to study the craft from the masters, write my first novel, and publish it. Years of practice in the legal world honed my skills – because in law and in fiction, every word must have a purpose, chosen with care. My latest book, Unbound, tells the story of a rich kid from Manhattan with nightmares of a dragon and the world ending in 2066. It's a page-turner full of big ideas about religion and technology and the future.

My Thoughts:

I have always liked Science Fiction. I find as a believer it is hard to find good quality Christian fiction so, for that reason I don’t usually read it much anymore. Most of the time when I do I’m disappointed and feel like I wasn’t my time.  This book happened to catch my attention and it was refreshing reading another genre in my reading time. 

With all that being said I was delighted to find a fast paced page turner. It has a bit of everything in it from science fiction, religion, political, spies, and end time events.

The end time events where put in a creative way that was unique yet, still kept the theme of what is found in scriptures. Yet realize that the book of Revelation can be interpreted in many ways. So if you are not a person who is opened minded with the many ways that Revelation can be interpreted than this is not a book for you to read. For me I look at it has only God knows and understands Revelation. As long as a fictional story on end time events isn’t not too strange or doesn’t resemble scripture or keep the main theme of the book then who I’m to judge. I was surprised at the unique presentation from Unbound.

Another thing that I look at is the characters. I want them to be realistic and someone I could say is my next door neighbor. J.B. Simmons does a good job getting you familiar with the characters quickly that you can relate with them.

One character is Elijah Goldsmith. He is a young man from Manhattan that comes from a wealthy family. Elijah grew up in a typical non-practicing Jewish family. Jesus and the book of Revelation have not been easy for him to grasp and something he knew about. Elijah is a very realistic and likable character that I enjoyed.

This story isn’t narrated as much as other stories. It’s more like a living journal from Elijah’s life as you entwined into his dreams, thoughts, and day to day activities. It was presented in a very unique way that I have never read in a fictional story. 

Another main character is Naomi. Naomi is a Believer. She is pretty intrigued by Elijah’s dreams.

There are many other characters that you will meet in this story.

I have to say that I thought of this story several times when I wasn’t reading it and when I finished with the story. Not too many books do that to me. I have one compliant. The ending was truly a cliff hanger that you have to read the next book in the series quickly!

A well done story that was a refreshing read. It was a fasted paced story that I didn’t know what would happen next. I look forward to the next book in this series, “Clothed with the Sun”.

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This book has been provided to me my by Glass Road free of charge and in no way was I asked to give a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.