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M Joseph Murphy
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Council of Peacocks (Activation Book 1) Kindle Edition

by M Joseph Murphy (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.3 3.3 out of 5 stars 17 ratings
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There is a dark world, hidden in plain sight, filled with vengeful djinn and shadowy demons. The Council of Peacocks, a secret society of sorcerers, has plotted for centuries. And now the time has come for Activation - a hostile takeover of Earth.

A band of misfit, half-demon teenagers with extraordinary powers join Wisdom, an immortal wizard, to stop The Council. They are trained to stop the Council and their army of reptilians. But there’s something that Wisdom doesn’t know. The Council is no longer working alone. If Wisdom and his students cannot stop The Council, the world as they know it will cease to exist.

This is the first installment of M Joseph Murphy's exciting paranormal thriller series.
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    Activation
  2. Print length
    388 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    December 13, 2013
  6. File size
    2110 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joseph Murphy was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. He earned his geekdom at an early age. He read X-Men comics from at the age of 8 and it only went downhill from there. As a teenager he wrote short stories and wanted to be the next Stephen King. Instead of horror, however, he kept writing fantasy stories. After surviving high school as a goth with a purple mohawk, he studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor. He lives in Windsor, ON (right across the stream from Detroit, Michigan) with his husband, two cats, and shy-but-friendly ghost.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00DTIEUNI
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Council of Peacocks Press (December 13, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 13, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2110 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 388 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0991950356
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.3 3.3 out of 5 stars 17 ratings

About the author

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M Joseph Murphy

M Joseph Murphy

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Joseph Murphy was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. He earned his geekdom at an early age. He read X-Men comics from the age of 8 and it only went downhill from there. As a teenager he wrote industrial music and short stories, aspiring to be the next Trent Reznor or Stephen King. Joseph studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor.

He previously worked for Ellysian Press, first as their in-house cover art designer, later as editor and publisher. Joseph left Ellysian Press in 2022 to refocus on his books and finally record an album of music.

He is currently writing/directing his first horror movie, Devil's Mountain, and developing a podcast on systems of oppression and their effect on the human body.

Customer reviews

3.3 out of 5 stars
3.3 out of 5
17 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Tiffx
4.0 out of 5 stars Very cool book!
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2013
Verified Purchase
The Council of Peacocks has it all, epic battles, conspiracy theories, romance, and a great story line. The first page will suck you into a complex and unpredictable, page-turning plot. Upon meeting the main character, Wisdom, immediately you feel the power and pain behind that power. Wisdom is an immortal that is traveling through time to make a future that he is happy with. His former protégé, Propates, is up to something dark and destructive and Wisdom will do anything that it takes to stop him. Despite his immortality and inventive super powers, Wisdom needs help.

New characters, The Anomalies, are introduced and each have something in common, fire starter tendencies and a past that does not allow them to go home. These teens are being collected by Wisdom and taught how to control and fully utilize their powers. Tempers run high when the students do not feel like Wisdom is being honest with them but when unexpected events occur, they have no choice but to band together and fight.

Wisdom is an unusual main character because I wasn’t sure whether to like him or not. He has a dark past but seems to have a good heart deep down; but will it be enough to save the world from the super villain, Propates? His friends don’t fully trust his intentions including his heart’s desire, Echo. Wisdom learns to rely on a new friend, Josh, to gain more information that can help defeat the Council of Peacocks.

With an ending that is sure to leave you wanting more, this book is a great start to the series!
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Ileana
5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomifreakingnal. *MAJOR SPOILERS* (Sorry if I just gave the whole story away in this review)
Reviewed in the United States on October 28, 2013
Verified Purchase
MAJOR SPOILERS

Note:This story is incredibly slow moving at times, but when the action is there it is non-stop. I want to state that this review is my understanding of the entire story. It was at times difficult to follow because there is so much going on. I share this review for those who have already read it and may have misunderstood and for those new readers debating on whether to purchase. I know revealing an entire story may not make people want to make a purchase but I also know that sometimes it does just the opposite. This is a difficult read but worth the experience even if you do read the review I've given below. And for those who complain about these major spoilers, I remind you again that you didn't have to read this. I clearly put Major Spoilers in the headline and before this note for that reason. If the author requests I shed these spoilers in a comment on this posted review, I will do so. On that note: BUY THE FREAKING BOOK!

Josh has a bout of amnesia and can't remember a memory involving his best friend Tommy being murdered by Edimmu;reptilian angels working under the Council of Peacocks. His memory is triggered by a talk with his best friend Brian, after he and his friends-on their way to a cabin for down time-have their car tires slashed by shards, which result in Tania and Brian's deaths after they are attacked, kidnapped and subsequently murdered. Long story short, Josh gets himself, his girlfriend Jan, Brians girlfriend Rebecca and his other friend Matt out alive. You are then introduced to one of his abilities which involve freezing an item/person. Wisdom, then "saves" him and recruits him as one of his army against the Council of Peacocks.

Wisdom is a highly feared character throughout the whole story. He's presented almost as a God or demi-god of sorts, but in reality he is a former Atlantean turned Djinn(demon) after touching a stone that resulted in his kidnapping and transformation of a Djinn as a slave under his new father's rule on Kaz(Djinnistan) after his mother's subsequent rape.

Wisdom has dedicated himself to gathering Anomolies, who are psychicaly gifted half demom half children. Anomolies are unwanted offspring that are born when Orpheans(phantoms)possess humans and have sex within that form. Orpheans are generally disorganized and normally hate the Edimmu. However, they are working together under The Council of Peacocks for exclusive reasons. The main goal: getting hold of a terraforming device capable of letting the user shape the world in his image.

This device would allow the Orpheans to rid the planet of Anomolies and Propates to rule the world, in addition, to resurrecting Argus, the God they serve/worship. It would also allow him to create an amry of enlightened and divine creatures, if they(the Anomolies captured and experimented on who survive their first initial "tests") are able to reach the level of Eyeness.

Propates also has shared history with Wisdom, as he is his "son"(creation). Wisdom turned Propates after his love interest, formerly known as Andromeada, now known as Echo, took an interest in him, after Propates anger regarding his pregnant wife being raped, led him to her. Throughout the story, not only has Propates struck deals with both the Edimmu and the Orpheans but also with Wisdoms "father" and an alien being by the name of Defksquar; who is charged with finding the terraforming device he wants to get rid of because his planet is warring over it.

Throughot the story we also learn Josh' human father is secretly working with the Council and that his real father is a man named Elphab, who too, is working with the Council, but more closely with the Edimmu. Then you have other supporting characters and anomolies such as, David, who feels he is a monster but seems to deny it all the same. His abilities focus more on blowing things up and setting them on fire. He also has psychometry; he gets impressions and stories off the things he touches. Jessica is a twelve year old whose a telekentic and healer, along with Todd but is able to shoot lighting and such. You also have Garnet who is telekentic and seems to be able to think things and make them happen. They are all extremely powerful Anomolies who are still growing and are part of the main cast.

Sure there are other Anomolies, but most are killed if not kidnapped and experimented on by the Council. You also have Echo, who can create teleportation disks such as, Wisdom, who can also rip fabrics in the eltrocomagnetic field. He also can travel through space and time, create portals, has full elemntal control, can freeze time, can read minds, has super strength and nearinvincibility. He also has a vast knowledge of things and can tell when things will happen;but I think that has more to do with the fact that in the past he has had access to the Akashi records, whih tell the full history of life.

In the end, Wisdom kills his father along with Propates but only after he murders Echo. Propates too, loved her and wanted her to side with him instead of Wisdom; who was also responsible for turning her after making her kill her brother and murdering the rest of her family. Crazy to think there was even a love story there.

It is also revealed that Wisdom went back in time fifteen times in order to stop Echo's death, but he failed even though he did try to defeat the Council in different ways, whether that meant focusing on killing the Edimmu first, or saving and boosting training sessions for all the Anomolies he recruited or killing his father first or getting to Josh first; since he plays a major role in the Councils plan.

By the end, the Council is not entirely defeated and there seems to be a new focus on Josh's cousin Travis, who seems to play a more prevelant role in the development of this story as a whole.

This is a must read. It's X-Men meets Star Trek meets Clash of the Titans with a big explosion of Greek Mythology. Sure the character's were a bit undeveloped, but it's within the context of the story. This book was absolutely amazing. Full of action, suspense and completely thought provoking, this was A class lierature. I completely recommend! You got yourself a new fan Joseph Murphy.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Utterly captivating
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2013
Council of Peacocks Book One by Joseph Murphy
Wisdom landed at Niagara Falls after being gone for four months. He thought he had defeated the Council of Peacocks.
Propates said the Council has a way to forcibly evolve humans. Thirteen of his people tore Athens apart. He had Edimmu, his created "angels," in the tens of thousands and urged people to surrender because the war had been won.
As Wisdom watched events unfold on television, his enemy, Propates, transported himself to Wisdom's room. Wisdom attempted to hide his multiple wounds from Propates. Propates bragged about having won the war; even having defeated Wisdom's friend Echo and Wisdom's beloved Anomalies. Propates approached Wisdom; Wisdom discussed their past work together, stating he hadn't taught Propates everything - at that point he propelled Propates through the reinforced windows to crash on the street many stories down. Wisdom opened a portal in time, stepped through and went back through the years.
Josh, Jen, and four other friends were going camping when their tires were speared by long, black shards of metal with pictures of peacocks on the sides. Within minutes, one member of the group was killed. The others began to lay blame.
The Council of Peacocks is interesting and moves along at a crisp pace. However, in the beginning, most of the characters are shallow and poorly developed. The details are sparse or spread out over several chapters. It begins to feel like a scavenger hunt to find anything out at all about the characters one is supposed to care about.
It also jumps between casts of characters rather quickly. Since there isn't a lot of character development, it becomes difficult to keep everyone straight. The information about all the characters does come out later, and the reasons behind the late introductions make sense in the context of the story line, it's just a bit frustrating for the reader in the beginning. If the reader isn't willing to invest time and pay close attention to details, this probably isn't the tale for you. It is definitely your loss if you don't want to invest that initial bit of patience, because the book is definitely a winner once the pieces start to fall into place.
Joseph Murphy is an author worth watching. Council of Peacocks is an original story in a genre begging for a taste of originality. Murphy writes in a vein similar to the older works of Stephen King. His writing is intense, creative, and imaginative. It has themes of fantasy, horror, mystery, and romance all commingled in a delightful smorgasbord of literary genius.
I received an ARC through Goodreads' program Read for Review in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
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Top reviews from other countries

Mari-Tricia
3.0 out of 5 stars council...
Reviewed in Canada on September 28, 2013
Verified Purchase
Although this is not the typical genre I'd normally read, this book was chosen for my Book club. I actually enjoyed this book and the story. Echo was my favourite character and hope she returns in the sequel. There are a lot of characters and it would be nice to see them a bit more developed (more of a back store). I found this book geared more towards teenage boys. It reminded me to Xmen. I found the typos and grammatical errors a bit distracting. I was fortunate to meet the author and chat with him about the book. I believe he is quite talented and has a true gift. He was able to transport me to a place I would certainly never imagine on my own!
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