The Penitent

Part I

Fiction - Fantasy - Epic
291 Pages
Reviewed on 01/15/2022
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Author Biography

I am an author, poet, and classical guitarist with a lifelong addiction to storytelling. Mountain ranges and coastlines fascinate me, yet I still remain stymied in suburbia. Faith, music, family, friends, and two fur babies help sustain me.

This book, "the Penitent - Part I," is the first novel of a planned, nine-book series called "The Immortality Wars." It is a sci-fi, fantasy, and spiritual thriller based on Christian themes.

Despite hints given throughout the first trilogy, the readers and the characters believe that they are in a medieval setting in a place similar to England. However, they are actually within a scientific experiment that is occurring in the 26th century.

Pall Warren is an elite soldier in the king's Aeonian Guard. He lives in a world filled with unrivaled natural beauty, constant struggle, and shifting perceptions of reality. Peace over the realm he lives in is an illusion only.

Pall discovers that war not only must be waged against competing interests within his own land, but also against unnerving entities filled with extreme malice toward the human race.

As the journey to discover who he really is unfolds, he learns that appearances are not at all what they seem to be on their surfaces.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Natalie Soine for Readers' Favorite

In his novel The Penitent: Part 1, author A. Keith Carreiro tells the story of Pall Warren. Pall’s mother died during childbirth, leaving his father, David, to raise him. Pall met High Marshall Solace Umbré, who commanded an elite unit of men called the Aeonian Guard, and his captain, Joseph Martains. Pall joined Solace’s army under the tutelage of Sergeant Meginhard and Sergeant Burchard. Pall went to war where he met Commander John Savage and the two encounter a Valravn, a supernatural raven. Pall and John find shelter in an abandoned farmhouse where Paul is attacked by Captain Error and his men, Gregor and Gordo of the Mordant Marauders. Savage kills two of the men before seeing an Ünger, an evil three-in-one monster who devoured people. After his escape, Pall met Thomas and Alicia Cooper with their two daughters, Myra and Mary, and traveled with them to Gullswater. Along the way, Ünger found them and it was up to Pall to save himself and the Cooper family.

The Penitent is a suspenseful story filled with action and adventure. Author A. Keith Carreiro has penned a beautiful novel with an array of unusual characters, both real and imagined. The scenes and locations including the farmhouse, forest, rivers, and trees come to life as Pall makes his way to Gullswater. I love Keith’s use of the English language and descriptive writing, including poems and songs. The battle scenes show us that war is brutal and causes only suffering and pain. “The wonder and guilt of it all were seen in the survivors who walked away from the sufferings of war. However, if you want peace, prepare for war.” The Penitent is an exceptional story, highly recommended to everyone.