First Chapter Review: THE ANCESTOR by Lee Matthew Goldberg #firstchapterreview

Thanks for visiting Literarily Speaking! Today's post is a first chapter review for THE ANCESTOR, Lee Matthew Goldberg's latest thriller mystery novel. First, a little about the book....

A man wakes up in present-day Alaskan wilderness with no idea who he is, nothing on him save an empty journal with the date 1898 and a mirror. He sees another man hunting nearby, astounded that they look exactly alike. After following this other man home, he witnesses a wife and child that brings forth a rush of memories of his own wife and child, except he’s certain they do not exist in modern times—but from his life in the late 1800s. After recalling his name is Wyatt, he worms his way into his doppelganger Travis Barlow’s life. Memories become unearthed the more time he spends, making him believe that he’d been frozen after coming to Alaska during the Gold Rush and that Travis is his great-great grandson. Wyatt is certain gold still exists in the area and finding it with Travis will ingratiate himself to the family, especially with Travis’s wife Callie, once Wyatt falls in love. This turns into a dangerous obsession affecting the Barlows and everyone in their small town, since Wyatt can’t be tamed until he also discovers the meaning of why he was able to be preserved on ice for over a century.

A meditation on love lost and unfulfilled dreams, The Ancestor is a thrilling page-turner in present day Alaska and a historical adventure about the perilous Gold Rush expeditions where prospectors left behind their lives for the promise of hope and a better future. The question remains whether it was all worth the sacrifice….

FAVORITE QUOTE FROM FIRST CHAPTER:

The nightmare vanished along with the sun rising like a bride’s pretty little hand on his grizzled cheek.

BOOK COVER:

Loved the cover. It makes you cold - real cold.

FIRST CHAPTER REVIEW:

A man wakes up in an unfamiliar place not even knowing who he is. This first chapter gives us a taste of the author's story by allowing us to get into the main character through powerful imagery. If you're squeemish - hey the guy is hungry, you know? - the wolf part as tempting as it was to read and find out what happened, don't. That's if you're squeemish but it's a food source to the man who is cold and doesn't even remember the last time he ate, or even who he is. Powerful first chapter.

KEEP READING?

Of course I'd keep reading! I need to find out where the guy from and his purpose. It's going to be yummy!

Pick up your copy!

Amazon → https://amzn.to/31Oays9

Lee Matthew Goldberg is the author of the novels THE DESIRE CARD, THE MENTOR, and SLOW DOWN. He has been published in multiple languages and nominated for the 2018 Prix du Polar. The second book in the Desire Card series, PREY NO MORE, is forthcoming, along with his Alaskan Gold Rush novel THE ANCESTOR. He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Fringe, dedicated to publishing fiction that’s outside-of-the-box. His pilots and screenplays have been finalists in Script Pipeline, Book Pipeline, Stage 32, We Screenplay, the New York Screenplay, Screencraft, and the Hollywood Screenplay contests. After graduating with an MFA from the New School, his writing has also appeared in the anthology DIRTY BOULEVARD, The Millions, Cagibi, The Montreal Review, The Adirondack Review, The New Plains Review, Underwood Press, Monologging and others. He is the co-curator of The Guerrilla Lit Reading Series and lives in New York City. Follow him at leematthewgoldberg.com