Title: The Adventures of Gorio: Archangel Gabriel Academy
Author: Sherwin Zarate
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978-1663228895
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Pages: 258
Reviewed by: Philip Zozzaro
Pacific Book Review
There are things that go bump in the night, many times they are ignored because they are meaningless. However, in Gorio’s case, a bump in the night portends grave danger and death. A phantom presence has taken his family including his mother, father and sister from him; an apparition known to be called the Kapre. Gorio takes off with lightning quick speed, running for his very life. He runs through a nearby forest, and soon encounters Matt & Shin Young. Gorio’s ability to see the ghost has piqued their interests, especially as they hunt ghosts. Gorio’s future is now on a different path.
Matt and Shin inform Gorio of a school in Canada where students imbued with paranormal skills learn the necessary skills to maintain the balance between humans & ghosts. Gorio is considered an Orb-Bearer, he is a target of the malevolent spirits in the world and the “Archangel Gabriel Academy” is where he can seek solace and find common ground with those of equal mindsets. Gorio possesses an ability to see phantasms, Shin Young has the ability to teleport and locate anyone in any location. Matt, who is a teacher at the school, has the ability to freeze with touch. Matt & Shin convince Gorio that he can find vengeance with time and patience.
The Archangel Gabriel Academy is just one aspect of a world previously unknown to Gorio. The academy is overseen by the Paranormal Bureau, which has global jurisdiction over wrangling ghosts, goblins and nefarious entities. As Gorio attempts to adjust to his new surroundings, he meets fellow students at the academy, who possess speed, psychokinetic powers and healing abilities. Gorio’s ability to see otherwise invisible entities is valuable to his classmates as there is a new battle between ghosts, goblins and the Orb Bearers. Gorio is determined to meet the enemy on equal footing, as he is trained in combat and aids his friends and classmates in researching their foe. As his time at the academy passes, his friendship with Shin grows into a deep love and his desire to defeat the Ghosts becomes all consuming.
The Adventures of Gorio hits hard with fast paced action in its opening pages bringing death & destruction literally to the hero/protagonist’s door. Gorio shows a resilience from the start that marks him as a survivor, a fighter who won’t submit even to forces beyond his control. The narrative of the book shifts seamlessly between Gorio and Shin’s perspective, their views of the other changing as their curiosity grows to admiration to friendship to love. Author Sherwin Zarate has penned a book that will appeal to the fantasy lover in not only the teen years, but beyond.
