Vestige
by Deb Hanrahan
Philyra Publishing, 2012
philyrapub@gmail.com
debhanrahan.wordpress.com
www.amazon.com/Deb-Hanrahan/e/B005HM0X3K

Vestige begins the day the world ends. Deb Hanrahan boldly adds this story to the surfeit of post-apocalyptic Christian Day of Judgment fiction narratives - successfully. It is risky working in a genre with familiar symbols, characters, and themes. A storyteller must work delicately, gently trusting her audience's existing knowledge of references, to craft something unique. The dangers of a supernatural or fantasy tale include being prey to hackneyed clichés.
Vestige is not chum for the religious horror flick genre. Vestige is clever, briskly paced, credible, and sympathetic. There are a handful of paragraphs (mostly in the first chapter) which sound a bit nervous. They seem almost self-aware and a wee bit jumpy about being looked at my readers. This adolescent awkwardness soon dissolves as the narrative picks up and the characters form. Hanrahan uses details gracefully, trusting the images described (such as a character defacing a cherished object) will evoke emotion better than narrative exposition.
Vestige's premise is straight-forward. One evening, everyone goes to bed as usual; in the morning, one-third of the population has simply vanished. Doctors, nurses, children and dogs are disproportionally absent. Panicked, the government, led by an unfamiliar Director of Homeland Security, invokes martial law. One individual alone has the ability to defeat evil and give humanity a last chance at redemption. Yet this savior, Micah, does not understand his role or responsibilities.
Part of the joy of reading Vestige is the aplomb with which Hanrahan uses a reader's expectations of a predictable storyline in unpredictable ways. There is, for example, the expected Catholic priest. However, he may or may not be one of the good guys or even one of the faithful. In fact, the definition of the "faithful" is unclear. Characters we assume would be good are not; those we expect to be bad are undecided.
Good fiction of any genre assists its readers in asking uncomfortable questions, such as "what is 'good?'" or "what is 'faith,' really?" In fiction, we can safely press against workaday truths - if the author leaves room for examination and doesn't pound us over the head with One Interpretation. Vestige leaves lots of space for questions. Carefully placed in an accessible young adult thriller, existential questions about the nature of faith or judgment or choice are hidden, if one wants to ask. Or, one can kick back and enjoy a fun story. Either way, Vestige satisfies.
Vestige is part one of a series. Part two, Scion, will be released in September 2013 by Philyra Publishing. Hanrahan's first novel is Changing My Wardrobe. All are available through amazon and other online retailers.
This review first appeared on irevuo.com, Friday Reads.

I will start by saying thank you to first reads and goodreads, as i won this book free in a giveaway from them. I did enjoy the book, however was a little turned off by how similar it was to Tim LaHayes "left behind" series. I read all 12 of the left behind series books and can tell you the plot is pretty much the same. I did love the series, so of course i also really enjoyed this book. I felt the writing was perfect it flowed me nicely throughout the book and kept me engaged at all times at what was going on in the story. I loved the characters and felt really connected to them in the story which is always good:) Micah sounds like a hunk and is also the 'gaurdian' in the book the one who is to defeat the antichrist in the story which i though was a very creative idea as it wasn't just one person leading the army against the antichrist in the left behind books, but just the left behind undecided people who fought in the fight. I though it was neat to use the barcodes on people similar to "the mark" used in the left behind books. I am left with a serious need to read the next book just to compare the two series against one another and that is bad and good at the same time. I should want to read it because the first book was so amazing i just can't wait to read the next one when that isn't the case. I do think the huge cliffhanger at the end with the "to be continued" was genius of the author because anyone who reads it will be dying to continue on with the story in the next book. So I rated the book 3 stars and can say I honestly did enjoy it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories based on the book of revelations and the rapture, or anyone who just likes a good fantasy YA book. ( )

A very quick read. I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one.

The rapture is a subject that fascinates me. This book is a work of fiction, it will not change anyone's religious beliefs and I don't think it could possibly offend anyone's beliefs. It is simply a dark fictional account of the rapture and it's aftereffects.

The characters are strong. I was able to relate somewhat with each one of them. Micah is definitely my favorite.

The book ends with a cliff hanger, be on the lookout for book two.

I received this book from the author for an honest review ( )

To be continued!!! I guess there will be the other half of the book coming out to conclude this book. Imagine taking the Left Behind Series and Stephen King's book "The Stand" and melding it into Vestige. I enjoyed the characters immensely. Especially the shift of narration between characters to glean the best idea of what is happening. Good book, I will definitely be on the look-out for the other half of the book! ( )

A beginning to a good story though I believe the language in the beginning is a detriment. Good charactor development and interesting story line ( )