Brainrush (2011) (edit title/settings)

• Rated 5 stars

“Great thriller mixing scifi and action/adventure with a splash of the paranormal.
Wondrful immersion reading experience”

• Rated 0 stars

“Read it. Liked it. Now reading Brainrush II”

• Rated 3 stars

“OK without being world beating. Good action, but characters are a bit one-dimensional and the sci-fi elements are as jarring as the aliens spaceship in the Abyss.”

• Rated 5 stars

“BRAINRUSH, a Thriller (Book one) is a mixed genre book that seemed highly plausible to me. The book contains elements of the paranormal, military, and action/adventure. By paranormal, I don't mean ghost, goblins, witches and warlocks or even vampires.

The main character, Jake, is a former Air Force Pilot who faced death on his own terms more than once. Jake has friends that care so much for him that they are willing to meet unknown challenges. The main characters contend with a religiously fanatical terrorist in sheep's clothing.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Bard's writing and imagination. Even when I knew I had to, it was difficult for me to put the book down because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I'm looking forward to reading the next books in this series.

I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy military action and adventure as well as opening their minds to super human possibilities. ”

• Rated 2 stars

“Initially, this looked like it might be OK - a man with a tumor that was not treatable. Then there is an accident in the MRI during an earthquake and suddenly things start to go weird.

The special ops aspects of the story had potential, but it was carried too far and I found myself skimming through some of the descriptions. I thought the characters were shallow and not well developed. In fact, my initial feel for the main character that he was a weakling and it turned out he was some well-experienced special ops guy who knew all the best operatives in the world. Not very believable.

I especially did not like the supernatural elements that appeared as the story developed. The space alien angle that showed up at the end was the last straw.

I did not really like this book and will certainly not be reading the rest of the series. I really hate series books that end on a "suspense" note. Even in a good series, there should be a believable ending to each book.

Not recommended.
”

• Rated 4 stars

“Self published & quite good!”

• Rated 5 stars

“Book: Brainrush, A Thriller (Book One)
Author: Richard Bard
Genre: Thriller, suspense, a little romance, a little sci-fi, and a touch of paranormal - In other words, something for everyone!
Length: Approximately 312 pages

I'm completely exhausted after reading Brainrush.

In BRAINRUSH by RICHARD BARD we meet the terminally ill ex-combat pilot Jake Bronson as he is having an MRI to determine how much time he has left. As the MRI progresses, as often happens in California, an earthquake hits. Both Jake and the MRI machine are tossed around the room. Something happens during this event that will change Jake's life and the lives of his friends forever.

Jake emerges with extraordinary cognitive powers. He soon learns that his mind has become a sponge and photographically imprints everything he sees and hears with the ability to pull that information from his mind as needed. While meeting his friends at the local bar that evening, he puts his newfound abilities to the test by entering that evening's sports quiz. Unfortunately for Jake, there is a news crew filming a story about the bar that evening, and they end up running a special interest story of a man that has an unusual mental talent. This news story is so sensational that it goes viral and is seen by international terrorists that are in the process of secretly developing a weapon to use against the United States. Now that they are aware of Jake's abilities, the terrorists will do whatever they have to do to study Jake's brain and use it for their unthinkable and evil deeds.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! I would like to give any future reader of this book a few tips. My first tip would be to make sure you have nothing planned for the entire day before you start reading it. You will be hooked from the very first chapter and you won't be able to put it down. I sure couldn't. BRAINRUSH starts out exciting and continues to pick up speed as you get further into the book. Every time I thought the book was going to slow down a bit, something else would happen that would have me gasping and fidgeting as I read. Did I mention reading this book is like a full body workout at the gym? I was exhausted.

Tip number two would be to make sure your E-reader is fully charged. I made the mistake of my Kindle only having about a half charge. When I saw that the battery was very low, I panicked. You can read while your E-reader is charging, but I do not have a long cord. I had no choice but to put the book down while my Kindle charged. I paced. I tried to answer some e-mails. Finally after 10 minutes, I ended up sitting on the floor next to the charger to finish the book. It was that good.

Mr. Bard has written some fantastic characters that I really enjoyed getting to know and a very intriguing story. I have recommended this book to all of my friends and family. I can't wait to get my hands on the second story of the series, BRAINRUSH II, The Enemy of My Enemy. I've just got to find out what happens next!
”

• Rated 4 stars

“An earthquake during an MRI causes Jake to receive an electrical stock and his life is changed forever. His new-found mental abilities come to the attention of the Institute for Advanced Brain Studies in Venice, Italy and its founder, Signore Battista. His institute is conducting ground-breaking research into autism and believe Jake's new abilities are the key to finding the cure.

But Battista is doing far more than just autism research and he's much more than he seems. If his plan succeeds, he will unleash a jihad in America.

...but again, there's even more behind this man's agenda. It has to do with a mysterious object hidden in the Afghani mountains, almost as old as man itself, with glyphs inscribed on it that no one has been able to transcribe...until Jake. When Jake unlocks the obelisk, life on earth suddenly has more to fear than Battista's jihad.



I would have finished off this review by saying it’s wide open for a sequel, but guess what? Bard already wrote one! I have a few other books in queue, but the sequel is already in that queue and should be read and review within a month or two.

”

• Rated 3 stars

“Easy read. Interesting plot with romance involved. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“A great find for the Kindle. The pacing is fast enough that you forget about some of the more ridiculous aspects of the story. I am not talking about the Sci-Fi aspects so much as the ability to throw together a full squad of mercenaries and launch an attack in Afghanistan in a matter of a day or two.”