The Great Begending
by JJ Sykora

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Having improbably escaped ritual sacrifice the day before, Montrealer, Oscar Philpott wakes at midnight the 1st of November, with sharpened senses, a strange clarity, and a force he can’t ignore pulling him toward New York City. By sunrise, he’ll be the only thing standing between humanity and Satan’s right-hand man–Samhain–the Lord of Darkness. Samhain has unleashed Operation DESPAIR on New York City–wreaking deadly havoc and infiltrating powerful institutions to fracture society from within–attempting to drive a desperate humanity looking for salvation from this spreading apocalyptic nightmare into his arms. An unlikely hero, Oscar and his exceptional dog Micky make their way south, his skills and awareness of the fight ahead evolving as he heads into the fray. He soon realizes that, for some reason, he’s been chosen to lead the resistance against Samhain. Outmatched against the otherworldly powers being unleashed in NYC – the epicentre of the apocalypse – Oscar demonstrates epic wars against powerful violent opponents can be fought without bloodshed. Within twenty‑four hours, everything converges at Yankee Stadium for the battle for the soul of mankind. The winner will decide humanity’s future: renewal or ruin. Life as we know it will end, and humanity will begin their journey into life after The Great Begending.

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Sykora weaves a compelling tale that has the reader entwined in the age-old struggle of good versus evil. Amidst the otherworldly powers and events, Oscar is a modern-day hero of love and kindness. Definitely worth a read! H.S. McCaffrey

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JJ Sykora has travelled, lived and still works around the globe in a broad range of cultures and settings. He has experienced wartime, highjacking at gunpoint and violent regime changes on one side of the spectrum, as well as the best that humanity has to offer on the other. His genuine interest in people, world events, philosophy, and the unknown wonders of the universe form the basis to his compellingly shared ideologies in The Great Begending. He believes growth and creation is fundamental to human contentment and uses his writing, painting, music, gardening, work in developing countries, and growing a family to achieve his contentment. He hopes his words are entertaining as well as thought provoking. In 2018, he published his first novel, The Resolution. JJ Sykora lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with his wife of thirty-five years and is the father of three, grandfather of two–with more on the way.

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JJ Sykora