Beckon by Tom Pawlik

I think maybe I should warn readers first, that the "average" reader might get scared, even very scared by this book. However, I wasn't afraid as much as drawn! Drawn to read the answers, to find out the rest of the story, to unravel the mysteries.

The front cover says "Beckon COME. And Live Forever" - that alone had me sufficiently curious.
After all, to beckon someone is to bid them to come. So it was sort of like Come... COME! And Live Forever. A call, a draw to live for always, or a warning--- if you come you will be forced to live forever?
Yeah--- I got all that off the front cover before I even started the book.

Beckon starts off with a super quick pace. Jack Kendrick is just a young boy when his Dad tells him about a  place he is going to go research. His Dad is an archaeologist and anthropologist. Jake was sort of blowing it off, because his Dad was always after that elusive "big find", but this time was different. This time his Dad never came back. He simply vanished. That never felt right to Jack, and soon he is grown and graduated from college, but the loss of his Father hasn't left him alone. As he decides to sell the huge estate, he and his best friend Rudy find documents hidden in his Dad's research desk. This quickly sends them on the mission of a lifetime, to go where Jack's dad was last alive and find answers to the questions that plague him. The only problem is these guys are not going to be prepared for what they find! After being forewarned, they quickly wind up in live or death situations in huge caves where men's eyes have not seen the kinds of creatures that dwell there. Jack has found Beckon in search of answers and closure.

But Jack isn't the only one who is bound for Beckon. Other people wind up in this strange town. A town with secrets, a town with a very unique history. A former officer who is trying to find out where people keep disappearing to has gotten herself in a jam tracking her cousin's disappearance. Elina had no idea where she was going to wind up by following these leads. Worse yet, she doesn't have the back up she needs. Let's just say her protocol varied from being by the book for this one. She is in Beckon against her will.

George and his wife Miriam came to Beckon of their own free will. George is very *very* well off, but he can't help his wife with the illness she is fighting. He has been told their is a cure in Beckon, and he is desperate enough to try just about anything to save her. As he drives into Beckon the sign reads -
"Welcome to Beckon - Your Not Here By Chance."

All this is just the very tips of the mysteries and complications that create the town of Beckon! If you could live forever in the body you are in now, would you want to? What price would you pay to save someone you love? What would you sacrifice to be able to have a very long long life? If you come to Beckon - you will find out more than you wanted to know.

My other thoughts--- this book tour always runs for 3 days, but I can't always mange to post for 3 days, even though I do try! That means I can't leave with out telling you that Tom Pawlik's Beckon is a page turner that leaves several questions for readers to think about afterwards. It isn't full of preaching, or even scripture. The contrast between good and evil is shown vividly, and enough of an ending is left for a possible sequel if he wanted to have one. The creatures that live in the caves, both "human" and not-so-human are fascinating as well as lethal, and very well written. This kind of book is not for the faint of heart though. I loved it though because in a way it reminded me of some of my favorite old black and white movies from back in 1935 that just are amazing--- like Beckon. Now I want to read Tom's other two books!

Carol

Book link - http://www.amazon.com/Beckon-Tom-Pawlik/dp/1414338732/ 
Author’s Web site  - http://www.tompawlik.com/
Author Blog - http://tompawlik.blogspot.com/
Author Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tom-Pawlik/42692434035
Author Twitter account - https://twitter.com/#!/TomPawlik

 In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. I am so glad I did! :D

Participants’ links 
Noah Arsenault
Julie Bihn
Thomas Clayton Booher
Thomas Fletcher Booher
Beckie Burnham
Brenda Castro
Theresa Dunlap
Nikole Hahn
Ryan Heart
Bruce Hennigan
Janeen Ippolito
Becky Jesse
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Leighton
Rebekah Loper
Katie McCurdy
Shannon McDermott
Karen McSpadden
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Nissa
Joan Nienhuis
Faye Oygard
Crista Richey
Kathleen Smith
Jessica Thomas
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Shane Werlinger