Official Review: Unyielding Destiny by Spiros Gratsias
Posted: 16 Apr 2021, 19:01
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Unyielding Destiny" by Spiros Gratsias.]
Shortly after his parents pass away, Frank is taken in by the Cabineri family, a reputable mafia family in New York. While with the Cabineris, he is raised to eventually succeed Don Cabineri as the head of the crime family. Frank grows to become a made man, and his undying loyalty to the family sees him incarcerated several times. While doing time at Alcatraz, Frank meets Scott, the son of Roy Easten, a man who died while saving him during the war in Korea.
He later escapes Alcatraz and slinks away to New York. Here he starts a new life with a new face and identity while remaining tied to his family. Frank remains occupied by the debt he owes Scott's father and is still unable to shake off the guilt he feels concerning his death. Years later, after Frank ascends to the responsibility of don and starts seeking to right the wrongs done to his family, he crosses paths with Scott again. But this time, it's different—Scott is now a trained attorney who is set on seeing the days of the Cabineri family come to an end. It isn't long before fate puts Frank in a position to choose between repaying his debt to Roy by saving Scott or fulfilling his duties as the head of the Cabineris family. What choice does he make? What are the details of the relationship between Frank and Scott? How does Scott go about his plan to bring down the Cabineri family? Does he succeed?
Spiros Gratsias weaves a thrilling and exciting tale in this book, Unyielding Destiny, a tale revolving around Frank, the mafia, and Scott. Depicting both themes of loyalty and humanity, Spiros shows the similarities and differences between Frank and Scott, two individuals fighting for their type of justice. He creatively interprets how both were shaped by their upbringing and experiences while further using other characters to deepen and shape the story.
Between the workings of the mafia family, the Korean War, the ascendancy of Frank, and Scott's planned retribution, there was sufficient tension and drama in this story to keep me reading. I liked the author's detailed descriptions of places and actions, which made visualizing the story easy. Places like Alcatraz, New York, and San Francisco were good examples of the author's descriptive prowess.
What I liked most about the book was the author's use of the Sicilian language. This added depth to the mafia aspects of this tale and made them more convincing. It also helped shine the light on the brotherhood shared in the mafia and how humane they still were, even with the atrocities they had committed.
The one thing I didn't like was the confusion in the moments of transition in the book. There were points in the story where it was difficult to tell when the author shifted from narrating in the present to talking about a past event or even a dream. An example of this was on page 255, after Daballia receives a message from Frank. The transition from there to Frank's dreams was quite disorganized.
This book went through some solid rounds of professional editing as I didn't find one instance of grammar or typo errors, which is rare. I give Unyielding Destiny a rating of 3 out of 4 stars, not only because of how exceptionally well it was edited but also because of the author's descriptive abilities, which brought to life each scene in my imagination. Unfortunately, the transition confusion means I can't give it a higher rating. I recommend this book to any lover of suspense and crime stories, especially if you like stories about the mafia and crime families.
******
Unyielding Destiny
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Shortly after his parents pass away, Frank is taken in by the Cabineri family, a reputable mafia family in New York. While with the Cabineris, he is raised to eventually succeed Don Cabineri as the head of the crime family. Frank grows to become a made man, and his undying loyalty to the family sees him incarcerated several times. While doing time at Alcatraz, Frank meets Scott, the son of Roy Easten, a man who died while saving him during the war in Korea.
He later escapes Alcatraz and slinks away to New York. Here he starts a new life with a new face and identity while remaining tied to his family. Frank remains occupied by the debt he owes Scott's father and is still unable to shake off the guilt he feels concerning his death. Years later, after Frank ascends to the responsibility of don and starts seeking to right the wrongs done to his family, he crosses paths with Scott again. But this time, it's different—Scott is now a trained attorney who is set on seeing the days of the Cabineri family come to an end. It isn't long before fate puts Frank in a position to choose between repaying his debt to Roy by saving Scott or fulfilling his duties as the head of the Cabineris family. What choice does he make? What are the details of the relationship between Frank and Scott? How does Scott go about his plan to bring down the Cabineri family? Does he succeed?
Spiros Gratsias weaves a thrilling and exciting tale in this book, Unyielding Destiny, a tale revolving around Frank, the mafia, and Scott. Depicting both themes of loyalty and humanity, Spiros shows the similarities and differences between Frank and Scott, two individuals fighting for their type of justice. He creatively interprets how both were shaped by their upbringing and experiences while further using other characters to deepen and shape the story.
Between the workings of the mafia family, the Korean War, the ascendancy of Frank, and Scott's planned retribution, there was sufficient tension and drama in this story to keep me reading. I liked the author's detailed descriptions of places and actions, which made visualizing the story easy. Places like Alcatraz, New York, and San Francisco were good examples of the author's descriptive prowess.
What I liked most about the book was the author's use of the Sicilian language. This added depth to the mafia aspects of this tale and made them more convincing. It also helped shine the light on the brotherhood shared in the mafia and how humane they still were, even with the atrocities they had committed.
The one thing I didn't like was the confusion in the moments of transition in the book. There were points in the story where it was difficult to tell when the author shifted from narrating in the present to talking about a past event or even a dream. An example of this was on page 255, after Daballia receives a message from Frank. The transition from there to Frank's dreams was quite disorganized.
This book went through some solid rounds of professional editing as I didn't find one instance of grammar or typo errors, which is rare. I give Unyielding Destiny a rating of 3 out of 4 stars, not only because of how exceptionally well it was edited but also because of the author's descriptive abilities, which brought to life each scene in my imagination. Unfortunately, the transition confusion means I can't give it a higher rating. I recommend this book to any lover of suspense and crime stories, especially if you like stories about the mafia and crime families.
******
Unyielding Destiny
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon