Review: As Wings Unfurl by Arthur M. Doweyko

As Wings Unfurl 

by Arthur M. Doweyko 

Applegate Bogdanski returns from Vietnam with a missing leg, a Purple Heart, and an addiction to morphine. He stumbles through each day, looking forward to nothing and hoping it will arrive soon. When he attempts to thwart a crime, he is knocked unconscious and wakes up to discover that people are once again calling him a hero, though he feels undeserving of the praise.

Apple returns to work and meets Angela, a mysterious woman who claims to be his guardian. Immediately, he feels a connection to her, which morphs into an attraction. But he soon discovers that Angela is much more than she seems.

Apple and Angela are swept up in a conspiracy that stretches through time and space. Together, they must fight to save everything they hold dear from an alien race bent on destroying humanity.

My Take:

When Applegate Bogdanski returns from Vietnam, he has traded a leg for a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, a hero's welcome, and an addiction to morphine. He stumbles through life in a drug-induced cottony daze, wishing to die and knowing deep inside that he's not a hero but a coward. His job at a small bookstore in New York City is hardly interesting, until a man shows up pummeling his boss and looking for negatives to some incriminating picture.

A mysterious woman named Angela shows up and saves him, and claims to be his guardian angel. The negatives become the focal point of a string of attempts on his life by beings far more powerful than any human, and only the superpowers of his angel can save him. But all isn't as it seems. The angels and demons struggling over secrets seem more alien than divine, and the two of them uncover an unholy plot that could eliminate all of mankind. 

Content:

Drug Content:
PG – Multiple references to drug addiction and abuse, pushers, and drugs administered against a person's will. Some slight alcohol consumption. 
 
Violence:
PG-13 – Multiple violent scenes, including a few decapitations and severed limbs. Nothing gratuitously graphic.
 
Language:
PG-13 - The F-bomb appears once, and milder expletives are spread throughout the work.
 
Adult Content:
PG-13 – A few slight adult conversations, and several scenes with nudity, but no sex.
 
Christian content:
There's a tremendous struggle of good vs evil in this book, and the bad guys are disguised as monks, priests, cardinals, and nuns. The good guys also impersonate the priesthood. Several religious people pray, and much of the action takes place in religious buildings, like a cathedral. And you'll find loyalty, faith, and self-sacrifice repeatedly here. But don't enter this book looking for a story of the unseen world of angels and demons fighting for the souls of mankind.

  

Final Analysis:
As Wings Unfurl is a fast-paced high-stakes thriller with a depth of world building and character development that gives it solid realism. The characters are relatable, the setting and story immersive, and the pacing perfect. I found it engaging, gripping, and entertaining. Five Stars!

About the Author:

As a scientist, Arthur has authored 100+ publications, and shares the 2008 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award for the discovery of Sprycel, a new anti-cancer drug. He writes hard science fiction, fantasy and horror. His debut novel, Algorithm, which is a story about DNA and the purpose of humanity, garnered a 2010 Royal Palm Literary Award (RPLA) and was published by E-Lit Books October 2014. He has published a number of short stories, many of which were finalists in RPLA competitions. A number of his short stories have garnered awards, which include Honorable Mentions in the international L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Contest and First Place in P&E Readers Polls. His recently completed Angela's Apple, a novel about angels who are not angels, won 1st place as Best SciFi Novel at the 2014 RPLA and will be published by Red Adept Publishing. His current project, Henry The Last, is about the last human being, a Lakota Indian cyborg. He lives in Florida with his wife Lidia, happily wandering the beaches and jousting with aliens.

You can find more about him, read his edgy science blogs, or enjoy his art work at www.ArthurMDoweyko.com