Bookish Escape: Jackie Morse Kessler & Loss

Jackie KesslerBookish Escape 2012Bookish Escape is back baby and tomorrow night we’ll be kicking off the 2012 series with a totally different premise. No longer will we just be discussing a particular novel or series, but we’ll be picking it apart with the author themselves.  Our very first author for 2012 will be none other than Jackie Morse Kessler, who will be releasing the third novel in her Riders of the Apocalypse series, Loss, on March 20th. This fabulous series not only tackles real life problems, but spins it through a supernatural tale that captivates the reader. If that doesn’t convince you to read this series, then how about the knowledge that proceeds from the sale of each novel goes to charity?  In either case, I hope you’ll join Larissa (from Larissa’s Bookish Life) and I as we discuss Loss and the other riders at Talk Shoe on March 12th at 8pm EST.

Call-in Number: 724.444.7444
Call ID: 93065

Warning: We will be focusing on the series, so spoilers are going to happen. We’ll try to keep the hardcore spoilers to a minimum, but there are no guarantees.

Haven’t read the series yet? What are you waiting for?! Here are the books, in order:
Hunger

JKessler-Hunger“Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world.”

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home: her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power — and the courage to battle her own inner demons?

Rage

JMKessler-RageMissy didn’t mean to cut so deep. But after the party where she was humiliated in front of practically everyone in school, who could blame her for wanting some comfort? Sure, most people don’t find comfort in the touch of a razor blade, but Missy always was . . . different. That’s why she was chosen to become one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War. Now Missy wields a new kind of blade—a big, brutal sword that can cut down anyone and anything in her path. But it’s with this weapon in her hand that Missy learns something that could help her triumph over her own pain: control. A unique approach to the topic of self-mutilation, Rage is the story of a young woman who discovers her own power and refuses to be defeated by the world.

Loss

JKessler-LossFifteen-year-old Billy Ballard is the kid that everyone picks on, from the school bullies to the teachers. But things change drastically when Death tells Billy he must stand in as Pestilence, the White Rider of the Apocalypse. Now armed with a Bow that allows him to strike with disease from a distance, Billy lashes out at his tormentors…and accidentally causes an outbreak of meningitis. Horrified by his actions, Billy begs Death to take back the Bow. For that to happen, says Death, Billy must track down the real White Rider—who is lost in his memories.

In his search, Billy travels through White Rider’s life: from ancient Phrygia, where the man called King Mita agrees to wear the White Rider’s Crown, to Sherwood Forest, where Pestilence figures out how to cheat Death; from the docks of Alexandria, where cartons of infested grain are being packed onto a ship that will carry the plague, to the Children’s Crusade in France—all the way to what may be the end of the world. When Billy finally finds the White Rider, the teen convinces the man to return to the real world.

But now the insane White Rider plans to unleash something awful on humanity—something that could make the Black Death look like a summer cold. Billy has a choice: he can live his life and pretend he doesn’t know what’s coming, or he can challenge the White Rider for his Crown. Does one bullied teenager have the strength to stand his ground—and the courage to save the world?

Breathe (2013)

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.