Ray DacoliasRecensioni

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. Very violent, depressing stories but written from an unexpected perspective and with so much detail as to almost be watched.

I found the story quite long and sometimes boring, especially the beginning, but from the chapter "Story Time" it really began to interest me. I enjoyed the use of fairy tales and some parts reminded me of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It also gave me an insight into the American school system which I do not know.
What annoyed me, especially at the beginning, are the descriptions of female characters. Either they are completely and utterly rotten (Margaret, in that case) or fragile, vulnerable figures, or saints. It is not really realistic. While reading this book, I kept asking myself that question: If the bad character (that is, Margaret) had been a male character, would have the descriptions (or in this case, the attacks) been the same?

After finishing chapter one, I instantly knew it would would be a book that made a lasting impression. This is the second book I've read by Ray Dacolias. I really enjoyed reading The Tragedy of Woman and it was the reason I was so excited to read The Searcher.

I would describe this book as being descriptive and wordy, but for the most part, it wasn't too bad. He really knows how to describe things in a way without being excessive or redundant. There were some times where I came across a description surroundings, that would go on for a few pages, but I thought that it was fastidiously intended.

There is a great amount of back story with each of the characters, including the villains. The reader will fall in love with the heroes, and anticipate the downfall of the villains. Everyone is so adequately described, there's no sense of confusion on who the characters are, or what their purpose is to the plot.

Along side the plot, there are plenty of controversial topics and philosophical questions, which made this a book I spread over a few days as I found myself pondering quite often. I got a sense that the author might be considerably religious.

Overall, I would categorize this book as a mystery, but since there is so philosophy and other musings, I found I was initially torn by which direction I wanted the book wanted to go in, but ended up just going for the fusion the author intended.

The Searcher will infiltrate your mind with philosophical thoughts and vivid imagery, definitely worth a 5/5!

What a delightfully long and enjoyable book. It's the first book I've read by Mr. Ray Dacolias, and after reading The Tragedy of Woman, I plan on getting his other books. Oscine is a valiant and strong woman who has survived many tragedies that no woman should ever have to endure or go through. It was like reading a nightmare at some points, and what made it worth reading, was how she handled and overcame the nightmares in her life.

As a survivor of my own nightmares, it was an interesting read, that kept me hooked from the very beginning, all the way to the very end. The author takes the reader on a rough journey of emotions and I found that each emotion I went through added to my love of the book. You can't help but feeling each emotion invoked by Mr. Ray Dacolias in his writing.

I found it refreshing to read about her difficulties and joys in a new marriage, and new baby. Not many authors write about the reality of what happens behind door with a newly wed couple and/or a new mother. Mr. Ray Dacolias does a great job at painting a picture of the life Oscine has lived, and I know many other people can empathize with her story since the reality of what she went through is all to real in the real world.

Most people who have gone through a rough childhood, end up leading a rough adult life, and it wasn't surprising to see that her life was full of complications. I really enjoyed the realness of this book and how close to the truth of many women lives it represented. I give this book a 5/5 and recommend it to anyone who has overcome obstacles and had a difficult or less than ideal life.

Review comes from my book blog

My Thoughts:


I put this book off for the longest time before I finally decided to see what I had got. This book absolutely blew my minds at some points; I literally slowed down my pace to make sure I got every single word. It has been too long since a book gave me so many emotions at once. I adored, cried, sympathized and cared for Oscine. She went through a lot during her life and deserved the very best. Sadly, that is not what she got often until Abraham came in. Now their love was not insta-love --- at least that's how I see it. The relationship was a slow, practically perfect build up of love.

My only problem with Oscine: she just couldn't seem to understand that Heath was not worthy. She just "had to work things out and do better for her husband". Those were 'bleh' moments for me. In fact, it appeared as if she was convinced of her so called place (her husband was a complete sexist butt). I know Obscine was a character whom was lovely, caring and everything good but she irritated me when she tried to reason or play off Heath's actions/words. And Abraham was patiently waiting but he wasn't a good guy throughout the whole novel, though.

He did more then irritate me, Abraham ticked me off. Obscine was left in a lonely state mainly because of him at times. If he truly cared for her then he would have ignored his bundle emotions (when he and his friend finally found her...yeah read the book o.o) and not make the biggest mistake of all! Obscine, had she been coherent, never would have approved of what Abraham did. Anybody would know this because she loved her kids deeply.

Abraham, at times, of course, and repetition of sorts were my main irritants. Oh! Can't forget the big shocker in the book two section , that I didn't see coming, which lead to the saddest shocker I also didn't see.

The title doesn't kid; tragedies are woven everywhere. Definitely not for the light-hearted.

3.5 rating

"I received this book for free from a friend who received it in exchange for a review. Despite that kindness I give my candid opinion below. Having read it, would I have paid for it? No way.

This book is a collection of short stories which range in setting from World War II all the way to interstellar space where mysterious creatures ride about on asteroids. To say that the book is "all over the map" is far underplaying its variety.

On the positive side, the author does have some unique stories to tell and there resides in the book the seed of several good somethings.

To the negative side, the actual writing of those stories is as tangled as a set of Christmas lights straight out of the box. This can be best illustrated through an example. I quote from the book:

"He was stumbling, tumbling, moving in a lopsided manner; he was lurching low, crawling, urging his body to go forward; he could barely see because of the blood, he could barely function because of the tremendous loss of blood, he could barely think because of the holes about his person through which his thick, cold blood spewed so precipitously."

This is exactly the sort of thing that goes on for 170 pages and after about 20 it begins to wear my soul out a bit."

I received a free copy of this cook in exchange for a review. However, I abandoned the book early on after realizing that its main theme was Christianity, a topic that I have no interest in reading about.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a book of short stories. While the individual stories were all wonderfully written, I just didn't get into this book like other ones. Though this wasn't a good book for me, I wouldn't mind reading more from the author.

I received this from Library Thing to read and review. This is a collection of stories that are all very strange. The author must have a good imagination to have come up with these ideas. I found each one stranger than the next and had some difficulty getting through the collection. I guess this collection of stories is geared toward someone who enjoys off the wall tales, the plots of which the reader may not have encountered anywhere else before. Because they were so very odd, I found the book difficult to get through. I am not quite sure who the intended audience would be for this.

fter a tragic accident a cop can't forgive himself and becomes the town recluse. He witnesses a bank robbery and his instincts kick in. He attempts to foil their escape and they take a hostage . . . his niece. He promises to rescue her and becomes one with nature while he looks for the girl.

Sounds like a five star plot right? It might have been if it were not for the author's penchant for describing every thing in excruciating detail. To be honest it reminded me of the old MASH episode where Radar decides to become an author. Sentences seemed to go on for ever. I counted 257 words in one sentence. It detracted from the plot in my opinion.

Having said that descriptions were breathtakingly beautiful. It was very easy to visualize the scenes the author was describing. The problem I had was that there were too many of them.
So we have a good book, a talented author with the ability to paint beautiful word pictures, but that skill is what made the book very tedious to read. It was easy to lose the plot in the descriptions.

I received this book for free in exchange for this honest review.

*** Received this book from a LibrayThing Giveaway***

I can't give a thorough review of this odd tale of short stories because alas I could not finish it. It was just not my cup of tea.
I found the stories off the wall crazy and not the least bit interesting. Honestly I hate to berate books because the author has endeavored to do something that I wish I could myself..write a book. However I cannot give false reviews no matter how much It makes me uncomfortable.

I received this ebook as a LibraryThing member Giveaway in exchange for a review.

Teller of Tales is a collection of beautifully-written, mostly-sad stories with uplifting endings. I found the writing to be mesmerizing so that I often got lost in the melody with no comprehension of what I had just read. I prefer more succinct stories. If you appreciate beautiful, wordy prose, I'm sure you will rate this much higher.½

Unfortunately, Teller of Tales, is not in my choice genre and I did not really care for this book. I liked both the length of the stories and their inspirational aspects, but I think the first story should have been "Love" rather than "Janitor."
In "Janitor" I did not care for Dacolias' description of the mindset of people in small towns. I also found the dialect overdone in parts (and therefore difficult to read) only to be nearly abandoned a few paragraphs later. The beginning of the story was too detailed for me; and I had a hard time buying into Sam living in the small town for 25 years and people knowing about his wife's death but would "show countenances of incredulity" when they saw him weekly. The ending was nice, but I felt like it did not really match the story.

In other stories I found Dacolias' writing style enjoyable, and the ending's a refreshing view of humanity. If you like short stories on different inspirational topics then I recommend this book; but it is simply not my cup of tea.

[Please note: I was given a copy of this book for review and the above opinions are my own.]

Never before have I been unable to read through a book. There have been a few that were a struggle to read, but nothing compares to this. While there may be a very good story in here I just can not get past the near constant run on sentences and the over usage of description. If I were the editor for this manuscript I would have sent it back with a huge NO followed by an explanation of why and perhaps a book on English grammar.



I received this book through a goodreads giveaway. My thanks to the author for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Joaquin, a police officer 5 years previous to the story, killed his daughter while trying to stop a kidnapper from abducting his child and wife. His wife was killed by the kidnapper. Joaquin was totally destroyed, left the force and lived as a beggar, walking the streets of his town, mentally and physically punishing himself every day for, in his mind, killing his wife and daughter. He was close to insanity when a similar bank robbery took place right in front of him. They shot the mother, leaving her on the street, and grabbed her daughter. The situation was so similar to what happened those 5 years past that it brought Joaquin out of his stupor. He went to the woman on the ground and told her to live and promised her he would return her daughter. The search began.

Juanita had strong faith. She believed in Joaquin for he was not a mere man. She regained her health healing from the bullet wound and prayed faithfully for the return of her daughter. Her other children gave up hope for her return. Even after 3 years of waiting she never gave up.
Sylvia, the young girl who was kidnapped learned to adapt to her situation and remain alive. She lived in the forest going from different secret hide away cabins located in several different states. She had learned from her mother about prayer and faith, so she prayed for herself, for the other girls and for the kidnappers, never giving up that she would be rescued. She knew Joaquin was searching for her and knew he wouldn’t give up the search until he found her.

The writer’s use of words is extraordinary. Joaquin searched for Sylvia but through the process he searched and found himself. The writer weaves a story with his words that places the reader at the scene, feeling what Joaquin feels, smelling what he smells and seeing what he sees. Much of the story is centered in rugged terrain pursuing the kidnapper, the very man who had taken his own wife and daughter. Joaquin’s search became very personable – revenge on his mind. Joaquin, through this journey changes from a man tormented to one at peace. The searching is his journey to that end. I highly recommend reading this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were very well developed and as each chapter ended - I wanted to continue. I had a very hard time finding a "good stopping point" Great Imagination and storyline. Can't wait to read the next one.

This book really kept me on the edge of my seat! An excellent and original fantasy. This book will appeal to a wide range of readers. The author has developed a very insightful story with plenty of action. Easy to read - hard to put down!

A strange book indeed. Starts off with a grim story about power plays in a US elementary school, including some fair critical view on the public schooling system. Then suddenly, half way through, it switches to Grimm stories, where our evil main character gets to confront herself in wondrous fairy-tale ways. Worthwhile read indeed. I'm not a native english reader, but i appreciated the appropriate writing style as well. Thanks for a en entertaining LBT giveaway!

Most people look toward something in their day to give them a little inspiration. A positive idea or thought that will give them just enough energy to make it through another lengthy day. It often comes from stories or messages that people pass onto one another in hopes that life will improve. This book is a compilation of stories about different situations that are very difficult. Lives that seem almost unbearable and impossible to find any joy. The most memorable story is the story about a father who has lost his wife and is in the process of loosing his only daughter to cancer. In his sorrow he desperately he tells his child that he will be joining her on her new journey. Instead his daughter begs him to stay and help other children like her dying of cancer. When all is seemed to have gone sour the author shows us that the father takes his tragedy and makes future miracles for other kids. Instead of withering away from despair he decides to make a change in other peoples lives and keep his daughter's memory alive. He becomes a doctor himself and saves countless cancer patients. Thus, proving that tragedy often brings positive change. If the daughter had not died, than the father would not have become a doctor. Countless lives would not have been saved and therefore heartbreaking incidents happen for a reason.

This book was both interesting and challenging. I enjoyed the depth of the stories and I liked how the author tried to truly make lemonade out of lemons. Story after story provided examples of how peoples lives improved by the choices that they made. I am giving this book three stars out of five since it was very slow for me. I enjoyed the eloquent language that the author used, but at times the stories were a tad dry. It seemed like they were either too long or too short. There was much variety in this book, which kept me going. However, I was confused when I first started reading the first story. This book would be great for an airplane flight, bus trip, or any other traveling situation. It is long enough to last for an hour or so, but short enough that one can easily pick up where they left off. If you are an avid traveler than I would recommend this book for you, but if you are not than you might want to check it out at the library. I must thank both Goodreads and author for giving me the opportunity to read this book. It was much appreciated and I look forward to reading other works by the author.

I have received a free copy of this book via LibraryThing in return for an honest review.

The state of public education in the United States is deplorable. The performance ratings of schools and teachers are based on standardized test scores; therefore, teachers are encouraged to teach to the test and find a way to get poorly performing students excluded. Every classroom needs to be wired and on camera. What is effectively martial law is in effect as soon as a student steps on school property.

The outcome of all this technology is lackluster at best. The news shows us school administrators who 'fix' test scores, the tests are under fire for bias, and all the rules and security technology in the world have not stopped school violence.

This book is fiction set in this kind of academic environment. Principal Carbuncle's iron fist controls the teachers at Amethyst Elementary. The students are non-entities. Sycophants whose classes produce outstanding test scores are lauded and all other teachers are reviled and they live in fear that Carbuncle's camera-monitoring will catch them attempting to teach material that is not within the strict "to the test" curriculum. The teachers are depressed and their personal lives are suffering.

So a resistance movement forms. They find ways to meet surreptitiously off-camera and out of earshot of the sycophants. Ways are found to teach interesting material. Personal calm is maintained through meditation. That's all good.

Then the book takes a very dark turn straight into the (non-Disneyfied) Brothers Grimm. Unspeakable violence is meted out upon Carbuncle and even death is not demeaning enough. The line of acceptable civil disobedience is not only crossed, but completely obliterated. I have read only one other book (a CIA exposé) that even comes close to being this hateful. If a student wrote something like this, that student would likely be arrested for making death threats against a school administrator.

Resorting to violence in order to make a point that the educational system is broken makes this reader question exactly who is the thug. I cannot in good conscience recommend this book to _anyone_. This book is not even worth 1/2 star, but zero stars will not register as a rating in this system.½

I can only imagine the sheer pain and torment a person goes through when they watch a loved one be butchered in front of their eyes. A piece of their spirit is killed along with their other half and something is permanently broken for all time. This story is about a person that was broken five years ago one dreaded day. His name is Joaquin Bridger. A cop that specializes in hunting down humanity's trash and cleaning the streets of its filth. On one typical day Joaquin gets called in to take down a deranged conman that has taken a woman and her child hostage. Not knowing who the hostages are Joaquin prepares to kill his prey. Once he reaches his destination he realizes that it is his wife and daughter that are the hostages and it is his task to get them away from the killer. What happens is a sad piece of history that forever scares Joaquin. While firing his shot he strikes his daughter and the conman kills his wife. In the chaos surrounding the shooting, the human garbage escapes in to the wilderness. Knowing that he killed his own daughter and prevented his wife's death, he turns toward madness for comfort. His guilt eats him alive and transforms him into a broken man that is looked at as a member of the walking dead.

One day while Joaquin is making his typical rounds of self pity throughout town he stumbles up on a familiar scene. A scene where a woman and a daughter are held captive by a deranged lunatic. In the chaos that surrounds the scene the bank robber makes off with the child while the mother is left in tears. While witnessing the kidnapping Joaquin recognizes the human trash that killed his wife and a spark of life begins to reignite in him. The guilt that has been festering in his soul turns into rage and he promises the mother and the police he will hunt the animal down and return the daughter. The story then follows the minds of several twisted souls and shows how a broken man can slowly put himself back together again. This book was a very interesting piece of literature. On one hand I was a little taken back by the descriptive monologues that took place throughout the book, but I also respected the author's depth in his beliefs. This book was very difficult to read at times since it had a tendency to run on and on. However, I did enjoy the story and appreciated the author's language, emotions, and passion for his character. I must thank both Goodreads and the author for allowing me to review this book. It was very enjoyable and it was something new for me.

Another excellent books by Decolias. In this tale of a teacher gone wrong one finds out that fairy tales really do exist and sometimes there isn't a happy ending, especially if you are the wicked witch. Great read

It also defines the essence of the short tale, not by its length, but that it "...deals with a single character, a single event, a single emotion, or the series of emotions called forth by a single situation." Each element in the short tale should build to the tales point, even when it comes as a surprise to the reader.

I love short tales. So when I found this compilation of short tales I was thrilled by the varied selection. Read it in the course of couple days. A pretty basic anthology of some classic short tales; great for beginning readers or those who want to fill a few short tales gaps. I was immediately entranced by all of these tales, which made for an incredibly enjoyable read.

I won this on LibraryThing.

This book is the story of one man’s search—for himself, for redemption, for answers. Whatever you want, you can put that into the story’s main theme. The reader meets Joaquin Bridger, a homeless man who is tormented by his past until one day, he watches a child kidnaped and begins a search for the kidnaper and the stolen child. This search, which really is a search for himself and meaning in his life, takes Joaquin through many different places, encountering many different persons and situations. I found this book unlike any other I have read. It has little dialogue. The reader gets to know the characters through their interactions and their roles in the plot. The author has produced a well written, very descriptive book, and the reader will quickly feel a part of the story. One interesting thing is the way he has presented society. It is as if you are in a different era, yet modern conveniences still exist. The book relies on the reader’s ability to involve himself/herself in the story of Joaquin, and is not like many of today’s “who done it” mysteries. Some reviewers have found deeper meanings in the story and the characters, even the significance of the names. The author may have meant it as an allegory, but I took it as a simple story of one man’s search for meaning in himself and in life and how events can impact one in ways one might not understand or be able to foresee. I received this book from Library Thing to read and review.

I received The Searcher from the author through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway scheme.
The plot is fairly straightforward - a cop makes a mistake resulting in the death of his wife and child at the hands of an uber criminal. The cop is so full of remorse and self loathing that he takes to living on the streets and soaks up the deprivation and abuse as a self inflicted punishment, until the day he witnesses a bank robbery and recognises his nemesis grab a child hostage and flee. This is not a spoiler, it is merely the starting gate for the story in which he vows to track down the criminal, free the child and gain redemption.
And that really is the plot from thereonin, for which the reader is require to suspend belief which is not uncommon with more outrageous action books, or scripts, there will be many eye rolling moments but that should not spoil the overall enjoyment of a book well written and a story which fairly cracks along.
The author weaves a number of competing or complimentary threads around the simple plot and the book has themes of adventure, survivalism, spirituality, action thriller, fantasy, motivational, and classic good versus evil, and there is a danger that any one of these themes when accompanied by some scarcely believable, or more likely unbelievable, happenings will alienate a reader.
I'm not easily taken in by Coelhoesque mind manipulation but can appreciate his stories and enjoy his writing if I forget about the supposed life changing and preachy qualities embued therein, and I found The Searcher to be similar in stripping out the sentimentality I could enjoy the descriptive quality of his writing. Dacolias is especially adept at imparting sensory experiences such as a passage where he describes the weary tracker accepting fate and being consumed into the earth as the autumnal leaves surrounding him. Of course there is renewal and hope and the story continues and that is really how the book rolls.
So a simple cliched plot, much ado about spirituality, motivation, and the power of good versus evil, but ultimately The Searcher is just a ripping good yarn.

It is a long time since I picked up a book and gone wow after the first couple of pages, but this book made me do exactly that.

The authors descriptive writing of both the characters and their surroundings draw the reader in and you actually envisage yourself being there alongside them.

You follow our hero on a trail of excitement and dogged determination in his quest. After being haunted by the killing if his family our hero begins a life of homelessness and wandering. When the man who is responsible of the killing of the heroes family robs the local bank and kidnaps a young girl our hero sets off to find and return the girl.

The writer will touch the hearts of every parent and release their worst nightmare their child being snatched and taken by a stranger.

The methods and survival techniques used by Joaquim (our hero) in tracking the kidnappers is expertly described and the emotions he is feeling make you believe you are travelling alongside him .

The writer also spends a lot of time on the villain of the piece and you get a feeling and the understanding of his motives, which makes you want him to be caught and receive justice.

The reason that I really love this book is the authors use of language and descriptive terms which enhance the characters bringing each and everyone of them to life .This author has a unique style of writing which will appeal greatly to any reader and I strongly recommend him.

This book carries a really strong message of hope and faith when you believe you have nothing left to live for. Something comes along which shows that God made you for a reason and you have to survive to find your true path and learn to live again.