Eden’s Ore – Judgement Volume 3 by BV Bayly (book review)

‘Judgement’ is the third in BV Bayly’s series of books entitled ‘Eden’s Ore’, which is set in the not so remote future where ordinary energy sources have been used up to be replaced by a weird mineral which has astounding properties. As with oil, it produces not only energy but war and strife around the planet in man’s greed to obtain and maintain their rights to own it. Central to the plot is the character Gabriel who, after an accidental explosion in a storm, has shards of this mineral embedded in his chest which somehow gives him almost supernatural abilities enabling him to fight against the forces of evil. Basically, it’s a good versus bad series where the bad side seem to have all the cards stacked in their favour.

The religious significance is great, with The Church Of Humanity being the good guys against the corrupt and evil TERA. However, there is a problem in that Bayly has not only dumped his publisher and gone on his own, he has also rewritten the earlier two volumes, ‘Secrets’ being the first and ‘Revelations’ the second. This is rather annoying if you have read the first two only to be told you’ve got to go back to the beginning to re-read them again. Maybe a bit unprofessional, the author should have got it right from the start and not used us as an exercise in writing. Maybe, of course, it was a necessity after moving from the publisher to avoid contractual problems? Saying that, nevertheless, he does offer the first volume cost free on Amazon Kindle which is fair enough but I think he should go a step further and offer ‘Revelations’ free as well. This would allow everything to be placed back to the beginning to start again. Okay, enough said. So what’s going on in the third volume, ‘Judgement’?

Of particular interest to British readers, the action takes place in the UK where TERA forces have made a mess of this green and pleasant land. They want to dominate the planet and there seems to be little resolve to tackle them. Even Gabriel is at a loss but he has the twins, Talia and Thorne, to lend assistance. It’s a battle of attrition somewhat like the First World War and any movement is gained at a tremendous cost. The Spheres, the good guys, don’t seem to be doing all that much to stop TERA and, though they still control London, it’s likely that they will lose it in the near future.

Reinhart is the man in charge. He is a man of action, decisive and resourceful, maybe more so than Gabriel who at times is a bit wishy-washy and lacking focus, thinking too much about himself rather than others. What happens is no mystery and everything goes to the dogs leaving the forces of good with their backs against the wall. Facing defeat, Gabriel returns to America to look for a new ally, some mythical person who could save the day for them.

Actually, the writing is very good with plenty of graphic description, taking us to every action so that we understand what’s going on with some clarity. The only complaint could be that it’s taking a long time to get to the bottom of things but, that being said, there are more books to come and we are just getting to the crucial part of the story. This volume is about 300 pages in length and hopefully it will not be rewritten.

This series of books could be the making of Bayly as an author. Proving that he can write consistently and to schedule may attract the attention of big publishers who will snap up his abilities for future titles. Who knows? Anything could happen. Whatever happens, he gets top marks for enthusiasm and dedication. Writing is a long and hard slog that never really diminishes and once on this path it becomes a lifetime of endurance but even as he writes this series of books, he’s probably got ideas for something else in the future.

Looking forward to the next edition of ‘Eden’s Ore’, we wonder what will happen to the world when dominated by TERA. In a book full of religious undertones, that future will be complex and a bit weird in many respects but will the forces of good overcome the bad? It would probably be a good idea to snatch up the free edition of the first novel to see what it’s like and then, once hooked, purchase the rest which appear to be reasonably priced and affordable. It’s a book to recommend.

Rod MacDonald

December 2015

(pub: CreateSpace. 330 page paperback £9.99 ISBN: 978-1-51937-396-0. Kindle Edition £ 1.99 (UK))

check out website: www.amazon.co.uk/Edens-Ore-Judgment-B-Bayly/dp/1519373961/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1450263709&sr=1-2&keywords=Eden%E2%80%99s+Ore