A deeply evocative story of choices made and unforgiven acts.

RIP THE SKY by Mark Packard, a recently released work of speculative fiction, tells the life story of Billy Don Worster, a simple boy from a hardscrabble farm in the Texas Panhandle. Addressing tough subjects such as battlefield experiences, PTSD, alcoholism, and drug addiction, Billy's story is, at once, emotional, fantastical, and riveting.

The story is complex, as are the emotions drawn as Billy's struggles unfold. His generation of veterans had a very different service experience than those of previous wars or that came after for several reasons: the absence of a deeply patriotic cause to enlist and serve, divided leadership, lack of support for the war by the general public, at least as depicted by the media, are a few. They were often reviled upon their return, not receiving the welcome home recognition and appreciation. Nor was the recognition and treatment for PTSD very advanced. Billy self-medicates with booze and weed rather than prescription drugs under his doctor's care. His fight with addiction will be life-long and is a vivid and visceral storyline. His 30-day coin presentation just about gutted me.

Billy's war experiences and subsequent hallucinations and nightmares were frighteningly real; the action and descriptions of the settings were easy to visualize to the point of feeling like I was there. His life is tragically altered forever by what he went through and how he reacted, never forgiving himself for what he perceived as his failures. Billy's experiences also lead to his ability to leave his body and fly to doors in the sky, opening to other worlds or versions of his life had he made different choices. The truth of this ability to fly is left ambiguous. Is it a manifestation of his psychological problems or a tumor? Or is it a special gift or curse? However, since he shares the ability with Judge Madeline Johnston, I am leaning toward it being an actual gift. Common threads link him and the judge: how they reacted to the adversity in their lives, choices made, paths taken or avoided, and the capacity to forgive.

The story covers a lifetime and a full spectrum of human interactions: the horror of war; the goodness of people such as Butch Crowley and Rachel Wheeler; their capacity for meanness as shown by Judge Johnston's courtroom management, demeanor, and judgments; and greed as depicted by Delbert Reynold's and Stewart Thompson's despicable actions. It is a story readers won't soon forget.

I recommend RIP THE SKY to readers of speculative fiction who enjoy stories with science fiction and fantasy elements.

The story had an interesting premise, but unfortunately, it fell short of delivering the mystery and excitement promised in the synopsis. The initial chapters held my interest, but as the story progressed, I couldn’t help but notice some contradictions.

My main issue with this book revolves around the storyline, which felt like a mix of different concepts and ideas that didn't always fit together, so some things didn't quite make sense. The writing, for the most part, came across as dry and monotonous, with repetitive scenes and dialogues.

One thing I really liked in this story was how it portrayed the idea that external challenges often reflect more complex internal issues. I also liked how even at the end, the story left you wondering whether these parallel worlds were real or just a clever manifestation of the human mind's coping mechanism when reality becomes overwhelming. These two aspects of the story stood out for me and were executed really well.

Even though there were things that I liked about the story, my overall enjoyment of the story didn't quite meet my initial expectations.

Thank you, NetGalley, the publisher Bluestreak Publishing, and author Mark Packard for the gifted copy! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

After a shocking courtroom crime, a disturbed Vietnam veteran and the vindictive judge who sent him to prison become time travellers in a chaotic multiverse in search of their greatest life. Sadly, I DNF’d this book at around 12%. I found that when reading from the main characters perspective, I found no interest to see where this story goes and where he ends up. Every time I read this book, I lost more and more interest to the point where I didn’t want to continue reading.