E. Storms are bringers of many things; Winds that rip the
sea apart, dark skies that foretell danger, limbs ripped from trees and rain that pummels down all around us. But what if
a storm brought something else all together? What if a storm brought something that would change your life?
This is what happens to Sam. A lighthouse
keeper, he takes his job seriously. He is the last thing between a ship and the rocks of the coast. Playing solitaire as a
fierce storm rages outside his lighthouse, he is thankful that he is safe inside. What he does not know, however, is that
his life is about to change forever.
Going outside the next morning to survey
the damage, Sam comes upon a wicker basket. Inside is a baby that stares at Sam with eyes that are wise beyond their years.
Sam wonders how anyone could have gotten the child onto the island; they are surrounded by nothing but water, clam now that
the storm had passed.
Deciding to take care of the baby, he calls
the child Storm, naming him after what brought him to the island in the first place. Thirty three years later, Storm rests
by Sam’s side as he lies dying. No matter what Storm does, Sam is not comfortable. A chill has invaded his bones and
he knows he is not long for the world.
Knowing this, Sam tells Storm that he is
meant for great things. “Follow the railway tracks and seek the whirling rainbow. There you will find what you are meant
to be.”
After Sam’s death, Storm finds himself
in a small town where he hears a voice in a dream telling him that he must find his destiny. He finds the railway tracks that
Sam spoke of and soon meets a pure white dog with amethyst eyes. When the dog leads Storm to a battered woman by the train
tracks, Storm has no idea that he has found his destiny.
The dog with the amethyst eyes leads him
down a path that will change his life forever and will challenge everything he knows. And Storm must rely on all of his strength
if he is to help others and to survive…
This was one incredible read. From the
first words, I knew I was in for a literary treat. After reading the first chapter, I knew I was in for a life changing experience.
Rarely does a book come along that speaks to me so clearly, so beautifully and I was blown away by the beauty of Storm.
Part parable, part fantasy, party mystery,
part spiritual quest, Storm is unlike anything you have read or will read. Ever. I can’t even come close to describing
the beauty and depth of this novel, the sheer gorgeousness of it. I am still haunted by this novel, thinking of it, dreaming
of it. You will find yourself thinking of this book well after you have turned the last page.
What I love most about this book is the
story. It’s so simple yet it manages to touch on every emotion you can name. I laughed and cried while reading this
novel. It’s written with such a depth that it’s hard to believe this is Anthony’s first novel; she writes
with a maturity of a seasoned writer and the beauty of her words is breathtaking.
Even though there is a spiritual message
in this book, it doesn’t hit you over the head. Storm makes you think and it makes you feel and that is the true power
of a book. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so affected by a novel, so moved by words I’ve read.
This is one of the best books I have ever
had the pleasure to read. I can’t get Storm or those amethyst eyes out of my head and I don’t think I’ll
ever want to. Storm helps reshape how you look at the world, how you look at others and, perhaps most importantly, how you
look at yourself.
Storm is an enchanting work that I will
read again and again for years to come.
The Book Pedler
http://thebookpedler.wordpress.com/2007/03/13/storm-by-joyce-a-anthony/
***
F. As both an author and reader of fiction, I was impressed with
"Storm". Maybe it is because I have always enjoyed a book that could hold my attention and make me think at the same time.
In a nutshell, the characters are believable and yet a little out of the ordinary and the story line unique. Give this book
a try.
Tommy Taylor
Author, Second Virgin Birth
***
G. Do you know who you are, what makes you tick? Do you recall what it was like when you came face-to-face with
the real you? Does your life have a purpose? Why do you exist? What—or who—lives within you?
Joyce A. Anthony
has striven to present a story that she hopes will inspire you to ask questions, to dig deep into your soul and understand
who you are, why you are, and what your existence can and does contribute to the human story. While it does fall under the
Christian fantasy genre, there are various ways to interpret the story, if indeed you need to interpret it or if you are satisfied
just with a good read. It is both.
Storm, published POD (print on demand) by Star Publish, is Anthony’s first
novel with a prologue so intense that you won’t want to put the book down. The questions come at you and remain with
you long after you reach the intense conclusion and close the back cover. Who is Storm? How did a baby in a basket end up
near the lighthouse on the beach of a lonely island? Who was this child? A better question is WHAT was this child? And what
can be the impact of one life on a whole world?
It is not every day that a first novel is published. Anthony struggled
over the writing of the book for well over a year to write the story the way it needed to be written. Though she said she
never could figure out specifically who the audience is for Storm there are messages or effects for everyone, young or old
and any age in between. Even if it causes the reader only to pause and question, it has accomplished what she set out to do.
The
novel is not preachy. It is, however, thought-provoking. It doesn’t always go where you expect it to go. Even if you’re
sitting and thinking that there must be more to the story on the one hand, on the other you may end up thinking about your
own life path and where you have been, where you are going. If you read only one book this month, Storm may just be the one
you will want to read, the one that will push you to accept who you are and the destiny that waits for you.
Cathy Brownfield, Senior Living Editor
***
H.
If this one doesn't move your heart, nothing will, April
14, 2007
| By |
Nina M. Osier (Augusta, ME USA) |
Sam the lighthouse keeper names the baby Storm, because he finds the child cast up on the rocks in a great ocean storm's
aftermath. Storm lives on the island, alone with his foster father, until Sam's death. Then, at 33, Storm takes the supply
boat to the mainland for the first time. He knows in his heart, as well as from Sam's last words, that he has a destiny to
fulfill. But he has no idea what that destiny may be, what he needs to do, or where he needs to go, in order to fulfill it.
I can best describe Joyce Anthony's first book as a modern-day Pilgrim's Progress, although this allegory takes the
form of a page-turning contemporary novel. Storm, the innocent in a world he doesn't know - the stranger in a strange land
- struggles with questions and feelings familiar to all humans. His story ends as it inevitably must, but until its final
scene the reader can't be sure about what will happen despite Anthony's foreshadowing.
The Vietnam veteran's chapter
left me blinking back tears. If this book doesn't move your heart, I don't know what possibly could.
http://www.geocities.com/nina_osier/
***
I. Storm, By Joyce Anthony
Reviewed by Billie A Williams
I don't know what I can say about Storm
and Joyce Anthony that hasn't already been said. Anthony's characters are rich with detail, living breathing normal folks
in every day situations laced with the problems of life, rescued by faith in themselves and a higher power they come to know,
as the reader is led from page through page.
With a Moses-like beginning Storm and then Maggie, Anthony's characters,
address each situation they encounter with wisdom and empathy. You may not like all the people you meet in Storm, but you
are almost certain to know at least one of them.
There are no guaranties in life, but in reading Anthony's Storm you
are guaranteed food for thought and reason to hope. Is Anthony a seer, a prophet or does she just have a knack for finding
the deepest meanings and bringing that to you via her story telling? You be your own judge. Read Storm, you won't be left
without an opinion about its message.
