Revealing the Covenant

Rating:
Summary: Get Lost Within The Pages Of This Fast-Paced Thriller!
Review: I Found Myself Lost Within The Pages Of This Fast-Paced Thriller!

Reviewed by Tyrone Vincent Banks of Betsie's Literary Page.

This book opens with an image that sets the tone for this story. Superman stands tall holding his wheelchair overhead, cameras flash as the room buzzes with simultaneous activity and Christopher Reeve - the Real Superman - has been cured of his paralysis. He walks into the room as living proof that the much-debated stem-cell research does in fact work. Being that Mr. Reeve passed away recently, I could not help but to feel sorrow for that real life event. However, the tale that follows this impressive opening made me feel triumphant and hopeful.
Dr. Michael Preston and his younger brother Matt are hit by a vehicle being driven by an intoxicated individual who has changed the brothers' lives and relationship. Matt is paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair and Dr. Preston blames himself for this unforeseen disaster. The Doctor spends most of his time following any research that will give his brother a chance to walk again.
After many years of research and dead ends, Dr. Preston receives information about a medical team lead by a Dr. Kilmer who claims that they have cured paralysis. Dr. Preston has been hand selected to join the team and is pre-warned that there is a group called the Covenant who have vowed to prevent the cure from being made available to the public. This group will block any and all attempts at curing paralysis by utilizing any means necessary. The Covenant resorts to mercenary tactics that usually leave their victims dead and therefore unable to work towards this cure. Many scientists and Doctors have already been murdered and Dr. Kilmer and his daughter Kayla may be next.
The Covenant is motivated by money and greed. If a cure is found, the financial backing for insurance companies and other research fronts would simply dissolve. It is similar to the financial ruin that most fuel companies would find themselves subject to should an engine be developed without any fuel requirements. Therefore, the financial factor has outweighed the human factor and Dr. Preston and other "players" have to prevent the Covenant from carrying out the vow that they have made to each other.
The vivid scenes and characters converge towards a final showdown of good against evil. Dr. Preston is working towards curing his brother and preserving his own life in the process as they are tracked by the mercenaries hired by the Covenant. A mystery, a medical thriller and a love story form the pieces of Revealing the Covenant and the surprise ending will fascinate you as well.
Rusty Van Reeves has woven aspects of his life into his characters. He has a spinal chord injury that has left him paralyzed from the shoulders down and is hopeful that a cure will be found. However, much like Dr. Preston's brother Matt, he realizes that life must go on in the meantime. Like Matt, he has his own software company. He writes, using one finger, to tell a story and express innermost emotions. He writes vivid poetry and he is also an excellent painter (he can paint quite well with a brush placed between his teeth.)
Revealing the Covenant is a remarkable book written by a remarkable Artist - in every sense of the word. To learn of the Author before or after reading his work will allow you to appreciate his unbreakable spirit and his powerful words. I've enjoyed this book and I look forward to his future projects.

"We live in a time when the words impossible and unsolvable are no longer part of the scientific community's vocabulary. Each day we move closer to trials that will not just minimize the symptoms of disease and injury but eliminate them."
Christopher Reeve, Testimony to US House of Representative, 1999



Rating:
Summary: exhilarating shocking medical thriller
Review: In Malibu, California, as a storm rages neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Preston drives home with his brother Matt following the latter's engagement party. Michael decides to pull over until the current torrent eases up, but before he can find a safe spot, an SUV swerves all over the road before hitting Michael's vehicle. Michael saves Matt's life, but he is paralyzed. The DUI receives a fine and some community service and goes on driving. Michael feels responsible though he logically knows better.

Three years later, Stergis Braxton meets with Michael to bring him on the research team that is very close to finding a way to reverse spinal cord injuries. Obsessed with a cure, Michael agrees though he finds Stergis' paranoia strange. Michael cannot believe the medical community led by a powerful HMO and the American government would not want a successful cure, but then again the polio vaccine cost the industry billions. Soon Michael will learn the truth as the hired killers of the Consortium want him and Kayla Kilmer, daughter of the key researcher, dead at all costs.

Though the chase is fun to follow, that subplot takes away from an exhilarating shocking medical thriller that never lets up until the final hoped for dash for safety. Readers will find it difficult to accept the premise that a major breakthrough would be thwarted by the medical big business government consortium Rusty Reeves makes a compelling case that proves is the key to this strong exposé tale. Sub-genre fans and anyone interested in conspiracies that the public be damned will want to read this well written tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: exhilarating shocking medical thriller
Review: In Malibu, California, as a storm rages neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Preston drives home with his brother Matt following the latter's engagement party. Michael decides to pull over until the current torrent eases up, but before he can find a safe spot, an SUV swerves all over the road before hitting Michael's vehicle. Michael saves Matt's life, but he is paralyzed. The DUI receives a fine and some community service and goes on driving. Michael feels responsible though he logically knows better.

Three years later, Stergis Braxton meets with Michael to bring him on the research team that is very close to finding a way to reverse spinal cord injuries. Obsessed with a cure, Michael agrees though he finds Stergis' paranoia strange. Michael cannot believe the medical community led by a powerful HMO and the American government would not want a successful cure, but then again the polio vaccine cost the industry billions. Soon Michael will learn the truth as the hired killers of the Consortium want him and Kayla Kilmer, daughter of the key researcher, dead at all costs.

Though the chase is fun to follow, that subplot takes away from an exhilarating shocking medical thriller that never lets up until the final hoped for dash for safety. Readers will find it difficult to accept the premise that a major breakthrough would be thwarted by the medical big business government consortium Rusty Reeves makes a compelling case that proves is the key to this strong exposé tale. Sub-genre fans and anyone interested in conspiracies that the public be damned will want to read this well written tale.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: FAST PACED NOVEL!
Review: This review is by Margaret W. Bonanno and was submitted by the author.

This is a tightly-written, eminently credible thriller. It is fast-paced, with nothing wasted, and pulled right from today's headlines, with a villain (HMOs) that most Americans are more than willing to hate. It's especially neat the way you incorporate recent history, such as the Clinton Administration, Whitewater, Charlie's fancying himself a latter-day Harrison Ford, etc.

Starting off with the scene where Christopher Reeve walks again is brilliant (especially the motif of Superman holding the wheelchair over his head). Your Consortium is a monolithic villain, seemingly all-powerful and completely evil. What's intriguing is that Stergis Braxton is not all good, either, but is willing to take underhanded measures to protect his Club.

You're very good with detailed descriptions of places. Every sky you describe is different; the verdigris copper of the gas torches at Rolan Oak, the rosewood tables, Waterford crystal, the detailing of the road signs as Michael drives to Cypress Cove, his taste in music, are exactly enough to put the reader in the setting, without weighing them down.

You really know your medical science, and you have the gift of explaining it to the layman without talking down or overwhelming them with data.

You avoid the cliché of love at first sight through the early rivalry between Kayla and Michael, which at first becomes professional respect and then eventually love ' much better. Your plot is marvelously well constructed. Hans Kilmer's forgetfulness, and what happens to the precious envelope, is quite believable, and the consequences move the story along at a suspenseful pace. There's a good cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 33, and the tornado is a nice touch. Lucky's finding the writing impressions on the legal pad that lead them to the Majestic Lady is also a good device.

You write good dialogue. The way Michael's Southern accent slips out once he relaxes with Kayla makes a likeable guy even more likeable.

There are plenty of nice little touches, like the cabbie with the vodka-laced strawberry malt, the fact that the bad guys are stressed and sweaty and living on junk food, Charlie's playing 'bumper cars' with the FBI, the waitress playing romantic songs for Michael and Kayla. And the Major's 'kite' is fantastic! Just a touch of James Bond, but also within the realm of believable military technology.

'Simon's' transformation is fascinating, but at least some of it ' the foster home, his legal training ' might be better introduced earlier on to make him more sympathetic. He's a complex character (in a good sense), because the reader doesn't know whether or not to trust him until the very end.

Kimberly Crist is also a complex and interesting character. She offers contrast and commentary on white society, and she's a good role model for what a bright young person of color can achieve. Why do I get the impression that Kimberly and Simon might appear in a subsequent book someday? This would be a very good thing.

The chase, complete with the storm at sea and the foul-up with the saline net, and John-John's going back to retrieve Gabby, is a nail-biter. And the final standoff shows everyone's true character, especially Kayla's finishing off the Major to save Michael's life, and Charlie's attempt to save Lucky, which is something a doctor would do.

Revealing the Covenant is a book I would pick up and read and recommend to others.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT ROMP!
Review: What a book! Man, if you don't believe in conspiracy theories now then this book will make you think otherwise. It was fun and entertaining wth a killer ending. Nice job RVReeves.

Luther in Virginia

Rating:
Summary: A Thrill-A-Minute-Ride!
Review: With his second novel, Revealing The Covenant: A Medical Thriller, Rusty Van Reeves, has crafted an artful narrative concerning the use of embryonic stem cells to cure spinal cord paralysis.

The focus of the story pertains to a group of doctors with one of the largest HMOs in the USA, who are determined to prevent a privately funded research team headed by, Dr. Hans Kilmer, a legend in the field of spinal research, from the clinical testing of a procedure that would reverse spinal cord paralysis.
This rogue group is made up of a secret inner circle, descendants of the original six founding members, who have entered into an agreement called The Covenant.
Anyone that gets in their way runs the risk of being destroyed as they are committed to the promises of their fathers, who have agreed to an "all-for-one and one-for-all pact."
Their interests are purely economical, and if there is a threat to their profits, they will use whatever means necessary, including murder, to safeguard their monetary interests.

The opening chapters of the saga revolve around Dr. Michael Preston, who is being recruited by Dr. Kilmer to join the research team. Kilmer and his business associate Stergis Braxton believe that Preston would make an ideal candidate.

They have reached this conclusion due to Preston's dedication to this type of research, as a result of his brother being paralyzed.
We learn that Preston and his brother were together in a car accident that caused his brother's paralysis, while Preston had escaped with very minor injuries. Preston blames himself for the tragedy and is determined to find a cure for his brother's paralysis.

Although, initially, Preston is not sold on the idea of becoming a member of Kilmer's team, his fate seems to be sealed when he is introduced to Kilmer's attractive daughter, Kayla, who is also a doctor following in the same specialization as her father. The two are mutually attracted to each other, and eventually are embroiled in some hair- raising incidents almost leading to their deaths.

Reeves writes with an easy fluidity, although some of his characters would have been more engaging if they had been more fully developed, particularly Kayla Kilmer and her relationship with Michael Preston. Still, plot counts and here is where Reeves' strength lies- his ability to weave an interesting tale that leaves the reader wondering if such hideous behavior on the part of some health companies actually exists in the real world.

All in all, the novel is a thrill-a-minute ride, and the result is a book you have difficulty leaving once you begin its reading.

This review first appeared on the reviewer's own site