The Taster

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The Taster (eBook) Pub. Date: 4/20/2011 Publisher: RP Books & Audio
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The Taster Pub. Date: 3/24/2009 Publisher: Reagent Press Echo
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The Taster Pub. Date: 3/21/2008 Publisher: Reagent Press
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The Taster: Timothy Blanchard Mystery Thriller Series, Book 1 (MP3 - Unabridged) Pub. Date: 3/1/2009 Publisher: Reagent Press

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Overview

In a world of corruption and wickedness, a world where your next meal may be your last, there's only one man who can taste the difference between what you can eat and what will kill you. He's the super-sized, super-talented FBI agent whose specialty is food security. He's the bona fide card-carrying superhero unlike any other. He's the fat man with the super taste buds and the super immunity. He's Timothy Blanchard, the titular hero of The Taster. The Taster starts with a meal and a murder. A whirlwind of meals and murders follow. It's enough to make you ravenously hungry and keep you furiously turning pages.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Struggling with dyslexia and learning disabilities, Jonathan W. Hickman grew up watching movies and learning to read. Movies gave him a glimpse at the classics, but he was introduced to literature by his father who often read to him primarily concentrating on the works of Steinbeck and Hemingway. Still, both Jonathan and his father considered Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan of the Apes" to be their favorite novel, just call it a guilty pleasure. By high school, Jonathan had learned to read well enough to complete comic books and to skim larger works of fiction. He found text books and non-fiction to be easier to manage given their layout and devoured them staying up all night before an exam to digest every word of text. Eventually, he graduated as valedictorian and went onto college at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, where he achieved degrees in English and Political Science. After attending law school at the University of Memphis, Jonathan returned home to Newnan, Georgia, where he practiced law privately for eight years. In 1998, he joined the movie and entertainment related web magazine Entertainment Insiders later becoming the company President and Editor. While teaching business law for 3 years at a local University, he constantly encouraged his students to read and often used classic works of literature in classroom examples. He now serves as the Public Defender for the State Court of Coweta County. Jonathan lives in Georgia with his wife and daughter. While Jonathan was writing The Taster, his daughter would rather chew on "Tarzan" than listen to her father read it to her. While vacationing and eating a large amount of disgustingly delicious Mexican fast food, Jonathan typed out the first chapter of The Taster. He knew that what he was eating at the time was no damn good for him and agonized over the long-term consequences. But what if there were no consequences, he asked himself, what if he could eat anything and not worry about his health? Thus, The Taster was born out of the fires of hot sauce and one tasty gordita. Influenced by food security concerns following the 911 attacks, Jonathan decided to place his hero in the role of a super human taster, a person who samples food at high-level government events to determine whether it is safe. But every good hero must have the perfect foil and in the world of The Taster, a super poisonist threatens.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781575451855
Publisher: Reagent Press
Publication date: 3/21/2008
Pages: 260
Product dimensions: 0.63 (w) x 9.21 (h) x 6.14 (d)

Meet the Author

Jonathan Hickman is an attorney who lives in Georgia. Struggling with dyslexia and learning disabilities, Jonathan grew up watching movies and learning to read. Movies taught him the classics, but he was introduced to literature by his father who read to him often primarily concentrating on the works of Steinbeck and Hemingway. Still, both Jonathan and his father considered Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Tarzan of the Apes” to be their favorite novel, just call it a guilty pleasure. By high school, Jonathan had learned to read well enough to complete comic books and to skim larger works of fiction. He found text books and non-fiction to be easier to manage given their layout and devoured them staying up all night before an exam to digest every word of text. Eventually, he graduated as valedictorian and went onto college at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, where he achieved degrees in English and Political Science. After attending law school at the University of Memphis, Jonathan returned home to Georgia, where he practiced law privately for eight years. He now serves as the Public Defender for the State Court of Coweta County.

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JackBurbank

Posted May 15, 2012

Falls Short

I had nice hopes for this book, but it disappointed. The concept of a "taster" in the rarefied levels of celebrity, politics and society was unique indeed. Had it stuck to strictly a mystery or suspense genre I would have given it maybe another star, but it delved into fantasy so much that it was almost an excuse - when there could be no logical explanation for a characters' trait, just make something up. There are no rules with fantasy. But it also wasn't tight enough. Two pages to explain the downfall of 80's shopping malls with no impact on the story, introducing new characters, complete with pages of background, with only about 20 pages left to the story and then not having them reappear or impact the story, and dialogue that was essentially the same for all characters. And last but not least, my eternal mantra: Why don't writer's have enough respect for their story to hire a decent editor? Way too many typos and errors. Jonathan Hickman has talent and is creative. If I'm not mistaken, this is an early piece of his and he should have more friends read and comment on his next piece. To write is to re-write. That's what this needs. I think.
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