BOOKS
Warrior's Creed --- From St. Martin's Press.
Prepare to be blown away...
This book has been in the works for almost three years, and I'm beyond excited for the world to read this inspiring and gut wrenching book. Warrior's Creed is the true story of how my friend Roger Sparks, an Alaskan pararescueman, has defied the odds his entire life. This is a wild and unpredictable ride through a real American warrior's life, and along the way Roger shares the wisdom of the ages. Expect to be moved, motivated, and inspired. Roger delivers a creed that will help us all become better human beings.
Helping him capture a snapshot of his life has been one of the highest honors of my writing career.
And then getting early blurbs from Marc Cameron, the "new" Tom Clancy, and Laird Hamilton, an American Icon, was pretty much the icing on the cake.
"Gripping, fast paced, and entertaining. Warrior's Creed shares an inside look into the intense challenges and hardships Roger and men like him have to endure and ultimately overcome to arrive at an enlightened and spiritual frame of mind. I related to so many tales and philosophies of this book, and it has left me inspired to work even harder, and to save any excuses I may have. Warrior's Creed reconfirms that no matter what type of warrior you are that all warriors live by a similar creed." —Laird Hamilton, legendary big-wave surfer
"One of the best books I've read all year. Words like honor, sacrifice, and duty get bandied around a great deal. Warrior's Creed gets down to the guts of it all, then digs even deeper. It's a book that speaks on many levels—wrenchingly visceral and entertaining. An incredible story, marvelously told." —Marc Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of Tom Clancy: Oath of Office
Never Quit --- From St. Martin's Press.
Now an audio book best-seller and Young Adult Edition Best Seller with Scholastic.
Never Quit is the true story of how my buddy, Jimmy Settle, an Alaskan shoe store clerk, became a Special Forces Operator and war hero. I helped Jimmy write his incredible and inspirational story of dedication and persistence against seemingly insurmountable odds.
From death-defying Alaskan wilderness training, wild rescues, and vicious battles against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, this is an explosive special operations memoir. My good friend's true story of a man from humble beginnings who became an American hero.
What some cool people have to say about Never Quit:
"There is a space inside a hero that is measurable only by the frequency of his destiny, that if he listens closely enough, he can twist any notion of fate to his favor. Never Quit is that measurement of Jimmy Settle’s calling. The distance he closes between Alaska and Afghanistan redefines heroism and the tireless dedication to fragile human preservation." ―Bryan Allen Fierro, author of Dodger Blue Will Fill Your Soul, Anchorage Fire Department Firefighter/Paramedic
"Whether in training or combat, in Philadelphia or Alaska or Afghanistan, Never Quit serves up an inspirational can-do attitude in every adrenaline soaked life-saving page." ―Bill Streever, New York Times bestselling author of Cold
"Never Quit yanks you out the door of a perfectly good airplane with the men of Alaska’s elite pararescue squad, the PJs. From the mountains of Alaska to the streets of Philadelphia to the battlefields of Afghanistan, this book packs a double handful of intensity. Go on―make the jump and feel the sky on your face." ―Kris Farmen, author of Blue Ticket and Turn Again
"From the treacherous caesiums of the Afghan mountain ranges to the unforgiving Alaskan frontier, there is no such thing as a routine rescue mission. Never Quit is an exciting glimpse into the world of Air Force pararescue operations." ―Michael Golembesky, New York Times bestselling author of Level Zero Heroes and Dagger 22
The Raven's Gift -- 2013 Washington Post Notable Novel
2015 Anchorage Reads Novel
The Washington Post declares: The Raven's Gift by "master of the cliffhanger" Don Rearden is a blend of "hunter-hunted suspense of Geoffrey Household's Rogue Male, the post-apocalyptic bleakness of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and the haunting mysteriousness of The X-Files."
"The book is fantastic, one of the best books about Alaska I have ever read. It calls to mind Cormac McCarthy and Stephen King, but at the same time it is all its own. The Raven's Gift is the story of a couple teaching in a remote Alaskan village when a epidemic sweeps through. People are dying in isolation, and others descending into savage violence. It is a survival story and an edge-of-the-seat thriller." 2013 Pulitzer Finalist, Eoywyn Ivy, author of The Snow Child
"Underneath this story's intrigue, suspense and insider knowledge, there is something darker, more disturbing...Rearden portrays how pollution affects northern culture and the subsistence way of life, as well as the systemic poverty of which "outsiders" have little knowledge...Beyond poverty, substance abuse and suicide we find characters with buoyancy and hope..." Winnipeg Free Press
"A post-apocalyptic novel that will set your hair on end..." The Sun Times
"The Raven's Gift is a compelling read -- well-crafted, engaging without being cheap. The term "page-turner" comes to mind. But it's dark and frightening for a midwinter read." Alaska Dispatch
"At first glance, The Raven's Gift might appear to be an epic thriller set in the ancient land of the Yup'ik tundra, but it goes much farther than that into the delicate frontiers of the human heart--the best book I've read this year."
-Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries
"The Raven's Gift will propel you pell-mell into a terrifying future of plague on the Alaskan tundra--all too real if you've talked with elders who survived 1917--all too frightening if you have sense to know this future can start five minutes from now."
--Seth Kantner author of Ordinary Wolves
"In The Raven's Gift, Don Rearden has created a kind of allegory for a people and place at risk, a generous and honest portrait of Yup'ik communities. His Alaska is one you won't yet have seen."
-- David Vann, author of bestselling novels Legend of a Suicide and A Mile Down
"The Raven's Gift has a winning plot, characters we've never met before, and intriguing details of a world most of us will never venture to -- creating a read that opens our eyes and finds the fault lines of a heart in one breathless sitting."
–Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of The Tenth Circle and My Sister's Keeper
“At first glance, The Raven's Gift might appear to be an epic thriller set in the ancient land of the Yup'ik tundra, but it goes much farther than that into the delicate frontiers of the human heart--the best book I've read this year.”
–Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire Mysteries
“An epic adventure, a work of mythical dimensions, never to be forgotten.”
–Daniel Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of Ishmael and The Story of B
"A many layered Alaskan intrigue which is gritty and engaging and an absolutely good read . . . all in a world, that Alaskan world --which I could believe.”
–Ron Carlson, author The Speed of Light, Five Skies, News of the World, Plan B for the Middle Class, The Hotel Eden, and At the Jim Bridger.
"Don Rearden's writing is captivating and new. This is a writer who has many books in him. I predict he will be widely read, well respected, and greatly admired."
–Jo-Ann Mapson, author of bestselling novels Bad Girl Creek, The Wilder Sisters, and Hank & Chloe.
"Don Rearden is a masterful storyteller, and an artist of extraordinary talent and vision. Like all great books, The Raven’s Gift transcends geography and culture; it provides a window into what it means to be human in an age when humanity is all too often pushed aside and those who live at the margins forsaken in the name of political expedience."
–Kris Farmen, author of Turn Again and The Devil's Share
Un Dimanche Soir En Alaska
This is my lastest novel, about the fictional Alaskan village of Salmon Bay preparing to move due to climate change. To date, the book has only been published in France by Fleuve Noir. Whether this book finds readers in America before communities relocating is old news has yet to be determined.
