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Title: Rites of Passage

Author: Roland Yeomans

Narrator: J. C. Rede

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-22-13

Publisher: Roland D. Yeomans

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Fiction, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Some dangerous souls lead lives like loaded guns.

Captain Samuel McCord is such a man. His nature was that of a poet and a philosopher. Until the day he witnessed his family dying in a Comanche raid.

Violence and death have stalked him since that day. Then, becoming blood brother to a not fully human Apache shaman, further changed McCord.

By 1853, he has become a pariah among the Texas Rangers, given assignments with certain death. Traveling the world, McCord saves Princess Victoria's life, sets Napoleon III on his throne, and fights on both sides in the Chinese Opium War. Every crown prince of Europe and the Orient has set a bounty on his life...

Then, the one thing he never expected comes into his life, love. Love in the deadly form of an alien, born of stardust and the sea. McCord can fight any enemy, but can he survive the love of a deadly goddess?

Members Reviews:

Must Read for Sam McCord Fans

If you have read any of the Victor Standish novels, you will need to read this one also. It gives some if the background and motivations of Sam McCord. It is a very good read. Awaiting the remaining books in the series.

A Western with a Texas Ranger

RY has written western that is half occult and half demonized. A Texas Ranger is looking for the culprit that killed his alleged daughter and then attempted her face. The Texas Ranger it's evil personified. He knows who else is bad, but has to wait until his potential is important. This is an excellent read for the gene.....ER

RITES OF PASSAGE

Who could resist such a prestigious line up (referring to the product description) of historical figures? The stories of McCord's globe spanning adventures is told through argumentative dialogue between the notorious celebrities as they either criticize his failures or extol his heroism. As the synopsis reveals, few of the notables are still among the living, and even the mystical creatures encountered in the salon and on deck have their stories of McCord's past deeds to share.

The esteemed author William Faulkner (who is the narrator of the novel) sets the tone in our initial meeting with Sam McCord with this excerpt (reprinted with permission by the author):

. .This time he was already sitting on the bench, laughing. I sat down beside him and asked what was so funny. He looked at me for a long moment.

"I am," he said.

And that was the great tragedy of his character, for he meant it.

. . .he expected people to mock and ridicule him. He expected people nowhere near his equal in stature or accomplishment or wit or anything else, to hold him in scorn and derision.

The theme of the novel explores the darker side of human motivation, each scene well crafted to expound on the selfishness inherent in even the most well intentioned deeds. It is during the exploration of one of those misdeeds that McCord is drawn to the moonlit deck of the Demeter and meets the sea goddess Meilori. Their shared loses bind them as soul mates.

Despite the shortcomings of humans as a species, Capt. Sam is the defender of all creatures suffering oppression by others. While he's heavily armed with all the weapons of the era, McCord's preferred weapon is verbal debate on the morality of the opponents. The plot climax does involve a well written action scene.

Without spoiling the novel too much: McCord enters the salon, knowing it is a clever trap set by his nemesis DayStar, also known as The Gray Man.