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Storming Heaven

Storming Heaven

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: FBI agent under fire!
Review: "Storming Heaven", by Kyle Mills, is a well written novel about mysteries that we deal with in life. A double murder and kidnapping sets the stage for an FBI agent to find out the clues to help the family in need. Mark Beamon, the FBI agent, is very intelligent already has this case figured out before anyone could find any clues. The story is based in a field office in Arizona and before Beamon can put everything together, government officials get in his way of concluding this case. As an FBI agent, the IRS targeted Beamon as an unlawful agent and is suspended indefinitely. Finding that the 15 year old girl was kidnapped and her two parents shot to death by a religious cult as part of a plan ever since the girl was young. Dealing with religion and money, this novel relates to real life situations as we see murders and kidnappings in today's world. I found this book to be interesting because of the mystery trying to be solved by this FBI agent. The FBI agent a normal cop who is very stubborn and thinks he is on top of the world. Talking about religions in America look down on "new religions". Because of the fact that this private cult was high put down. Because of the straight foward style of this book, it was easy to comprehend what was going on in the order it went through. Although, this book looked down on "new religions", this book was well explained and easy to follow. Overall, I would recommend this book because it is intense and it is well written english.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: IT'S A TEN!!!
Review: I just found this author. One of the best thrillers I have ever read. I am now going to order all of his other works. He is is in the same clss as Michael Connolly, Nelson DeMille, Robert Crais, Clive Cussler, William Diehl, James Lee Burke, Stephen Hunter, Susan Issacs, Faye Kellerman, Jonathon Kellerman, Dennis Lahane, Elmore Leonard, David Morrell and Robert Tannenbaum. His plotting is marvelous; his prose is outstanding; and his characters are exciting. Nothing more you can want from a writer. DON'T MISS READING THIS ONE!!!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: About the same as Rising Phoenix but w/o the great premise
Review: If you liked Rising Phoenix, you'll probably like this as well. As a light read, it's ok. But again, Beamon just isn't very likeable or believable as a hero or the kind of super cop you'd expect from a story like this.

The premise of this doesn't come close to being as good as Rising Phoenix, but the author does a good job of hooking the reader early in the story because you really have no idea what is going on, but the early events make you curious enough to want to find out. However, once the church gets into the picture, the story falls apart a little. The church just isn't very believable. And that and Beamon together is just a little too much.

This is just about on par with Rising Phoenix, so if you liked that, I suppose this is worth your time as well.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kyle Mills is Definately Up and Coming
Review: Kyle Mills has created a taut page-turner, right on the edge of credibility with a very likable cast of characters. FBI SAC Mark Beamon is a maverick whiz kid. Author Mills wisely gives him a few flaws and a healthy dose of humor. Beamon, a Texan, is a stranger to cold, snow and ice. While he performs incredible feats of derring do, he is constantly falling down, running into trees when his car slides off the road, slipping on stairs---all of which take their toll in his intrepid chases of the bad guys.

Beamon is called in on an apparent double murder of a wealthy couple and kidnapping of their teenaged daughter. In a small prelude, we are introduced to the family just prior and during the event. The daughter is an All American dirt bike racer and the parents are devoted, proud and caring. Mr. Mills has set it up so we care about this family. Beamon rather amazingly uncovers a religious cult that may or may not be involved. As described, the cult seems 80% Scientology and 20% Mormon (LDS). The further Mark delves into the case, the wider and more influential the cult appears to be. He loses his job, credit cards and is the IRS has frozen all his assets. He is rumored to be a child molester. His whole world is in ashes.

The story rushes at a furious pace with a few time outs for philosophizing. Mr. Mills seems uncomfortable with his character's various degrees of belief in the Deity, but has turned most to the story's advantage. Not entirely plausible and the solution is a little too neat, nevertheless, "Storming Heaven" is a satisfying read.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An Entertaining Read
Review: Mills has an enjoyable protagonist in Mark Beamon. Yet another duty station for him, still not on the wagon, yet another female interest, and a fresh supply of dunderhead superiors (is the leadership in the FBI really that political and stupid?) . Thankfully, there is another nasty 'badguy' to bring in. The story is a little farfetched but no so much that you want to stop reading. Mills pulls off the difficult task of divulging the plot early on while still making the reader want to keep turning pages.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Kyle Mills...A new writer with guts.
Review: Storming Heaven was one of the best contemporary thrillers I have read in years. Whereas most current popular novels of this genre deal with such oft-used threats as neo nazism, islamic terrorism, missing weapons as a result of Soviet breakup, or conspiracies within our own government, Mills has the boldness to deal with what is to me the most insidious and overlooked threat: "Christian" fanaticism, and its desire to control the lives of others. While clearly a work of fiction (I can't say I know enough about Scientology to draw any conclusions), this book is to me, far scarier than anything even Steven King could write since it deals with events that are entirely plausible. Large ideas aside, it is also an excellent crime/kidnapping story and while it does contain potentially objectionable language, the sex and violence are comparatively minimal so the book can be enjoyed by a wide audience. Definitely a winner along with Rising Phoenix, his previous novel which also tackles religious conspiracy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good fun!
Review: This is an uncommonly good book in the suspense genre. It features a well-structured plot, an interesting concept and good characterization.

The book begins with the chilling kidnapping of a teenage girl. The lead investigator, Mark Beamon comes to believe that the Church of the Evolution, a mysterious and powerful cult, is behind the crime, just as the cult begins targeting him.

In this, his second novel, Kyle Mills brings back the quirky but brilliant FBI agent Mark Beamon. Beamon is one of the better protagonists you'll find in the suspense genre, unlike the bland boring characters of a Tom Clancy novel. He's uncommonly funny, and a very good agent but also has flaws that make him more believable. Beamon is joined here by a great supporting cast which includes a hapless but endearing refugee from the cult, and an aging and insufferable surveillance specialist.

The theme of religious cults used here is fairly interesting. Mills does seem to be basing the Church on some composite of real-life religious sects. It's actually a very novel conception of an updated, more flexible Christianity - upon reading it, I was surprised that this wasn't a real cult. Or maybe it is . . .

In any event, the book picks up almost immediately and will keep your attention riveted until the end. What more would you want in a thriller?

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good fun!
Review: This is an uncommonly good book in the suspense genre. It features a well-structured plot, an interesting concept and good characterization.

The book begins with the chilling kidnapping of a teenage girl. The lead investigator, Mark Beamon comes to believe that the Church of the Evolution, a mysterious and powerful cult, is behind the crime, just as the cult begins targeting him.

In this, his second novel, Kyle Mills brings back the quirky but brilliant FBI agent Mark Beamon. Beamon is one of the better protagonists you'll find in the suspense genre, unlike the bland boring characters of a Tom Clancy novel. He's uncommonly funny, and a very good agent but also has flaws that make him more believable. Beamon is joined here by a great supporting cast which includes a hapless but endearing refugee from the cult, and an aging and insufferable surveillance specialist.

The theme of religious cults used here is fairly interesting. Mills does seem to be basing the Church on some composite of real-life religious sects. It's actually a very novel conception of an updated, more flexible Christianity - upon reading it, I was surprised that this wasn't a real cult. Or maybe it is . . .

In any event, the book picks up almost immediately and will keep your attention riveted until the end. What more would you want in a thriller?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Compelling!
Review: This is one of the best books I've ever read. I couldn't put it down and finished in one day. Mr Mills definitely goes on my "favorite authors" list. He is one heck of a writer. I read his other novel "Rising Phoenix" which was also good, but not as good as "Storming Heaven". Get comfortable before you start reading "Storming Heaven", and be warned, you will not be able to put it down. I just loved all the good guys. They all contributed to a wonderful story. Mark Beamon is now another one of my fictional heroes. I can't wait to read "Free Fall". Keep up the good writing Mr Mills.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: save your time, skip this book
Review: This was the best of the three Kyle Mills books that I have read so far. That is not very high praise when you compare this title to such luminaries of mediocrity as `Free Fall,' and `Burn Factor.' `Storming Heaven' was written prior to the other two novels that I mentioned so it is a little disconcerting to see a de-evolution in Mills' work as the years go by. I haven't read it yet, but maybe `Rising Phoenix,' his first novel will turn out to be his best work.
Storming Heaven is most definitely one of those books that it written with out passion by an author attempting to mold himself to the sure fire rout towards the bestseller list. Every tired and over used method to further along an uninspired plot is used here. I felt like I had read these pages many times before. To put this work into the best possible analogy that I can come up with, it was sort of like watching a re-run of one of those 1980's private eye t.v. shows where you know how it will work out before it even starts.
The saving graces in this book are the protagonist, Mark Beamon who turns out to be better than your average hero type. This is an enjoyable character that is not fleshed out enough in my opinion in this novel. In fact that is the bothersome aspect of all Mill's characters here. It would have been nice to use the decent right wing religious conspiracy angle as a cover to explore a few of these persons in more detail. Instead Mills mistakenly believes that the Hollywood car chase cliché is where the strength of his story unfolds. It is not. Try Lawrence Block's `Scudder' series for some good contemporary tales that put Mills to shame. Or if you have not yet delved into Elmore Leonard, Dashiell Hammett's `Maltese Falcon,' any Raymond Chandler, or a good Jim Harrison, try one of these amazing authors instead.



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