The Five Lost Days by William Petrick

The Five Lost Days

by: William Petrick

Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Pearhouse Press, Inc.; First edition (November 18, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0980235529
ISBN-13: 978-0980235524
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches

I found The Five Lost Days to be a very entertaining and engrossing read. In all honesty, my experience with this type of setting (a rather unknown country) is a bit on the slim side. With this in mind, I was not completely sure how I would enjoy this particular story. I am thrilled that I took the chance, because Mr. Petrick shows a wonderful talent with his characters and with bringing this particular setting to life. I was quickly taken in with Michael Burns and Kelly Montgomery. Michael has a strong desire to produce a memorable documentary, while Kelly is determined to protect her research set-up and bring discovery of plant medicines to light.

While the main characters of Michael and Kelly were excellent, the secondary characters were also highly engrossing. I especially found the practice of Pedro Meza, the curandero (or healer) fascinating. At the beginning of each chapter, the author has also included an illustration of a plant, it's name and medicinal value. This is also something that I found extremely interesting, and brought even more meaning to the sections in each chapter that referred to that particular plant.

The Five Lost Days is a very fast moving and quick paced story. I think that it's appeal will meet with several reader's approval - reaching a wide audience range. It is not often a person can learn such educational and interesting facts, while at the same time enjoying a highly entertaining story. The Five Lost Days accomplishes just that and so much more!

*overall rating 4/5

(click here)to read an excerpt

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Product Description:

Struggling documentary producer Michael Burns has traveled to the remote Maya Mountains of Belize to capture exclusive footage of the last surviving curandero. The traditional Mayan healer may hold the key to discovering new medicines among the vast, uncharted flora of the rain forest. But with a violent civil war spilling across the border from neighboring Guatemala - and Burns inexplicably drawn to the aging curandero's American apprentice - the filmmakers stumble into a more explosive story than they ever could have imagined. At once an adventure and an exploration into the nature of perception, THE FIVE LOST DAYS exposes the clash between modern culture and ancient beliefs.

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About the Author:

William Petrick's short fiction has appeared in a variety of literary journals, including Confrontation, Worcester Review, Palo Alto Review and The Distillery. Bill is a documentary producer/director who has created programs for National Geographic, Discovery, MTV, Court TV and many other cable and broadcast networks. He is currently a senior producer with Bill Moyers Journal on PBS. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

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Win Prizes!

THE FIVE LOST DAYS VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '08 will officially begin on December 1 and end on January 30. You can visit William's blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in December and January to find out where he is appearing!

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available. The winner(s) will be announced at the end of every month!