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VANOPS: The Lost Power
Book club discussion questions:
- Several reviewers have written that the story has something for everyone. Did it feel like a mystery, action-adventure, or thriller to you?
- Reviewers have compared the book to The Da Vinci Code and Tomb Raider. Did you find those comparisons accurate? Why?
- The twins go without smartphones while they are on the run. Try going without your phone for a day, or even half a day, before the next time we meet. What do you think you’ll experience?
- From page one, the reader is aware of menacing violence, yet the heroine is a black belt in a non-violent form of martial art. Were you able to relate to her struggle of learning to use lethal force?
- Which character did you like the most? Why?
- Which character did you least like? Why?
- From the list of characters, choose one: Maddy, Bear, Will, AJ, Ivan, Hana, D’Angelo, Dad, Maria, Grandpa Max, Pyotr, the Baron. If you could meet that character, what would you ask them?
- One of the book’s primary themes is dealing with fear. Maddy must overcoming fear of small, tight spaces to continue on the quest. Several ways of processing fear are mentioned in the book. What has worked for you?
- Did having character growth in this thriller slow down the action? Or ratchet up the tension?
- Maddy spits in the eye of death. What’s on your bucket list?
- Re-read this quote from Nikola Tesla and discuss the role ball lightning played in the story: “I am part of a light, and it is the music. The Light fills my six senses: I see it, hear, feel, smell, touch, and think. Thinking of it means my sixth sense. Particles of Light are written note. A bolt of lightning can be an entire sonata. A thousand balls of lightning is a concert…
- The novel uses current events with the Russians, e-bombs, and high temperature superconductors, and pulls in some ancient history. What did you learn from novel and the fact vs fiction debrief at the end? Did any fact surprise you?
- Talk about some ways people deal with grief. Was Will’s liaison with Hana appropriate? Understandable?
- Maddy dreams of making a difference in the world with her aikido students. What are your dreams?
- Maddy has some unusual experiences, such as sharing a twin bond and feeling her energy move around. Have you even known when the phone was about to ring, or been certain you knew what someone else was thinking? Or had some extra-ordinary experience?
- Which of the many themes, such as overcoming fear, keeping secrets, violence/non-violence, death, gender, power, to name a few, impacted you the most?
- Discuss the final scene – did Ivan, the Russian sniper, try to protect AJ or not? How did you feel about Ivan by the end?
- Think about the various types of power in the story. Why do you think the author chose to title the work The Lost Power?
- Did you see the twists at the end coming? Which ones? What feeling were you left with as you closed the book for the last time?
- Who would you recommend The Lost Power to after reading it, and why?
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"Written with a dynamic, cinematic style and full of action and suspense, here’s a book that defines page-turner.”
“Just a good ole’ fashioned rip-roaring adventure from start to finish. Enjoy the ride.”
"A high-stakes, daring adventure charged with suspense and mystery!”
"The narrative flows quickly and is unstoppable."
Five/Five stars - "The mystery of finding the weapon, the responsibility on the young woman's shoulders, and the constant threat of being chased was a perfect combination that had me sitting on the edge of my seat and holding my breath. This is one of the best action/thrillers I have ever read and I can’t wait for the next novel in the series."
Five/Five stars -"Every family has its secrets, only some are deadlier than others."
Cover design by David Ter-Avanesyan/Ter33Design