'Writing for me is not about speeling, grammar or punctuation – that’s why we have editors.... No, writing for me is the ability to capture a story and put it in words.' - Fantasy Muse

Saturday 28 June 2014

Dead Air

Dead Air by Jon Shafer.


Front Cover




Blurb

When a man suffering from a rare disease receives a debilitating head injury, the treatment given him mutates his affliction into a highly contagious virus. As the disease spreads, it first kills its victims and then reanimates them into beings that are compelled to eat ravenously and crave human flesh.  
In Clearwater, Florida, Steve Wendell is following the stories of people attacking each other, but is unaware of the severity of the situation. When Heather Johansen, a Sheriff’s Deputy who is interested in Steve as more than a friend, tells him the real story of cities being overrun by the dead, Steve makes plans to barricade himself in the fifteen story bank building where the radio station he manages has its suite of offices.  
After locking himself in with Heather and eight others, the group continues to broadcast live as the dead surround their redoubt and search for a way in. Coming across a ten year-old girl that is immune to the disease, the group tries to find a way to transport her across a land filled with the flesh-eating dead to a government facility where she can be studied and a cure found


My Opinion


I suddenly felt in the mood for a zombie book whilst reminiscing about 'The Walking Dead' and I came across Dead Air. What initially struck me was the amount of positive reviews it had on Amazon. Normally when I stumble upon such type of books they're usually a mixed bag in terms of reviews. Some positive but most often than not negative - either complaining about the characters or storyline, or in fact both.
Well, anyway moving on...

Opening few chapters were as I expected and - like all the other zombie books I've read -described the zombie virus outbreak and how it all started. However, unlike most of those books, I wasn't bored witless and I thought the beginning of Dead Air was brilliant. Well, not the actual reason of how the zombie outbreak started  - I thought that was a bit out there - but the tension that the author created when he described the slow, initial, almost serene turn from normal pleasant person to a flesh devouring monster. The suspense at wondering if that person was a zombie filled me with nervous anticipation and I actually had some semblance of dread whilst reading, which was a refreshing change to the usual eye rolling that normally accompanied these type of books.
Simply put - it was done right. Zombies were actually scary to read.

In terms of characterisation, the story focused mainly on Steve Wendell, a radio station manager. As far as hero's go he was exactly the type of person you'd want by your side in such a crisis. He was calm, composed and a leader. And not your stereotypical Rambo impersonator but instead someone who used brains over brawn. In fact that's something I liked overall about the book - the story wasn't like an encyclopaedia of every gun under the sun like most authors are contagious of (pun intended).

As the book wore on the early promise began to dwindle away when the author introduced more character POVs. Personally, I really hate it when characters constantly change and so I didn't enjoy it when the scenes shifted away from Steve. What can I say, I'm a one-man type of....erm....I mean I'm a one-woman...anyway I'm sure you get the point. 

This is a zombie book (just in case you forgot) but there actually wasn't a lot of zombie craving action. Rather most of the book was contained behind the walls of Steve's radio station where the group of survivors were holed up in. The story focused more on the logistics of staying safe. Which suited me as I'm more curious learning of how one would go about being hydrated and fed in such dire predicaments instead of charging headlong into a swarm of zombies with just a hand-knife. I know I'm probably in the minority when I say that and die-hard zombie fans will no doubt be shaking their heads at me, scoffing 'amateur' under their breaths.


Conclusion


One of the better zombie apocalypse stories I've read and I would definitely recommend it to fans who have sporadic renewals of enthusiasm for such books.


Out of 10 Stars:



7


***
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Saturday 21 June 2014

Pantheon

Pantheon by Josh Strnad.

Front Cover





Description

Not even gods can change the past, but the world's future is fair game.  
Lamont Price is afraid. A loner by choice, his life is defined by running—from relationships, from the law, and from his own guilty conscience. Once a boy who dreamed of adventure, he now wishes for nothing more than to slide through life unnoticed.  
Emma Sutter is also on the run, leaving behind a painful past of abuse and neglect and stepping boldly toward a future of wonder and possibility. Independent and strong-willed, she’s searching for a fresh start and the loving acceptance she hasn’t known since girlhood.  
When the gods, disguised as mortals in the windswept town of Pantheon, call Lamont and Emma together, neither seems a likely choice for a hero. Destiny, however, does not always work out the way one expects. With the fate of the universe at stake, these two must stand against a Legion of evil, battling their own demons in the process—But first they’ll need to see past themselves and discover the power within their reach.

My Opinion


I received a review request from Josh Strnad and what captured my attention after reading the description was the notion of marrying American western with Greek mythology.

The story follows two main characters; Emma, a strong, wilful young woman who escapes a life of prostitution and Lamont, a young cowboy on the run from the law. The story evolves quite rapidly as we learn that Emma is chosen by the King of gods for a special task and Lamont is chosen as her protector. Along the way they find aid from certain gods while being thwarted from others.

I was curious how the author would be able to combine the wild west with Greek gods, it's definitely an unusual mix, and I thought Josh Strnad did a great job in blending the two ideas seamlessly together. It's a testament to Strnad that it didn't feel odd seeing Hades - god of the underworld - as a gunslinger.

Characterisation was done well; both main characters developed over the course of the book, particularly Lamont who started of whiny and self-preserving but steadily grew into his role as protector.

The writing did feel stilted at the beginning with the dialogue feeling a little contrived, but as the book progressed, the sentences got sharper and the dialogue more polished. 

One major problem I had with the book was that I wasn't enraptured by the storyline. It was an OK plot, but just didn't fuel my excitement. Which was a great shame really as I liked the concept of the book and I applaud Josh Strnad for being bold by doing something different in a genre where everyone seems to be churning out the same material.

As for editing, no real issues to report. Apart from the rare typo, it was all-in-all a well edited story.


Conclusion


While this book may not be in my 'top ten books I've read this year' it certainly wouldn't be in the worst pile. If you're looking for something quirky, something which has the temerity to blend Greek gods and cowboys then I definitely recommend this book. 

If Josh Strnad continues to be as daring in his future books then I'm sure he'll have a successful future. 

Out if 10 Stars:


6


***
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Monday 9 June 2014

Blue Star Priestess

I don't usually review sequels but I thought I'd do a short post on one of my favourite Urban Fantasy series - Blue Star Priestess (Demon Lord Book 3) by Morgan Blayde.





Blurb



BECAUSE SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO FIGHT FIRE WITH HELLFIRE, THERE’S CAINE DEATHWALKER: RAISED AS A DEMON, ARMED LIKE A GUN MERCHANT, AND FUELED BY BOOZE. NICE IS A DIRTY WORD AND KILLING IS WHAT HE DOES BEST. MAKE A CONTRACT WITH HELL AND HE COULD BE ON YOUR SIDE, GOD HELP YOU. 

BLUE STAR PRIESTESS 

THE MILF FROM HELL: SHE’S HOT, LETHAL, AND NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ALIVE. CAINE’S FATHER KILLED OFF ALL THE ATLANTEAN DEMONS AGES AGO, LEAVING ONLY HIMSELF. BUT REAL OR NOT, THE BLUE STAR PRIESTESS AND HER DEMON SON ARE ON A MISSION OF VENGEANCE, ORCHESTRATING AN INVASION FROM THE SHADOWS. ALL OF L.A. IS THEIR TARGET. CAINE IS HIT FROM EVERY SIDE, ALL BUT JUMPING FLAMING HOOPS LIKE A CIRCUS POODLE. 

BETRAYAL OF HIS CITY MAY BE THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE IT, AS LONG AS NOBODY FINDS OUT. 
FOR MATURE AUDIENCES.

My Review


Picked up in the same action-packed form as the previous two. Not a page goes by when Caine isn't either killing someone, about to kill someone, or fornicating. Real roller-coaster of a story. 

I enjoyed this book more than the 2nd, mainly because of the development of Caine. You discover more about him and his mysterious ancestry. Also there's more depth to him than the psychotic killer he's portrayed to be.

However, the reason I didn't give this book higher stars was because of the amount of typos contained within. It felt like the author suddenly abandoned his editing half-way through as the first half of the book was perfectly fine, but the second half held basic mistakes like 'she' instead of 'he'. A simple re-editing would pick up most, if not all the errors. I still enjoyed the book and it didn't detract from the overall quality of the storyline. 

I will definitely be buying the 4th instalment.

Out of 10 Stars:


7


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Saturday 7 June 2014

Damoren

Damoren (Valducan) written by Seth Skorkowsky.


Front Cover 







Book Description


'IN THE SAME VEIN AS SUPERNATURAL, HELLBOY, AND BLADE'  
A secret society of monster hunters. A holy revolver forged to eradicate demons. A possessed man with a tragic past. A rising evil bent on destroying them all. 
Matt Hollis is the current wielder of the holy weapon, DÄMOREN. With it, he stalks and destroys demons. A secret society called the VALDUCANS has taken an interest in Matt’s activities. They see him as a reckless rogue—little more than a ‘cowboy’ corrupted by a monster—and a potential threat to their ancient order. 
As knights and their sentient weapons begin dying, Matt teams up with other hunters of his kind such as LUIZA, a woman with a conquistador blade; ALLAN, an Englishman with an Egyptian khopesh; MALCOLM, a voodoo priest with a sanctified machete; and TAKAIRA, a naginata-swinging Samurai. As the hunters become the hunted, they must learn to trust one another before a powerful demonic entity thrusts the world into a terrible and ageless darkness.


My Opinion


This urban fantasy novel immediately caught my interest from the striking cover. And after reading the description, it didn't feel like the typical urban fantasy stories you see nowadays flooding book shelves.

The book follows Matt Hollis. As a young child he witnessed his family being slaughtered by a Wendigo and during the attack he got bitten by the monster. As a result he became infected by it and soon discovered that he could heal himself miraculously by touching demon blood.
Now as a grown man, he travels around hunting monsters (think Dean and Sam from Supernatural). However, his escapades soon don't go unnoticed as a secret organisation of knights who also like to kill monsters want to meet him.

The book jumped straight into the action and I was instantly drawn into the story. The writing was very purposeful in that not a single sentence felt wasted. Also the dialogue was crisp and smooth. The plot was was fast paced, although it did linger near the middle before picking up near the end.

One of the major reasons why I enjoyed this book so much was the fantastic scary scenes written by the author in which I could actually feel a chill whilst reading the passages. This is how a proper Urban Fantasy should be. Supernatural beings here are evil monsters and not ones you want to cuddle up to at night.

Another attractive feature of the book was the idea that holy weapons are the only things capable of killing demons. These weapons can be anything, ranging from a sword to a gun and they bond to their wielders forming an almost conscious connection. It was really interesting seeing that concept play out and where the author would take it. And it does become a key feature near the end.
By the way, I forgot to mention, the main character, Matt, special weapon was a gun called Damoren.

As far as characterisation goes, I have no real complaints. Matt is your typical stoic, unflinching, selfless main guy. And as a reader you can't help but like him. However, I did feel that he became slightly overshadowed by the other characters, and at times I was left wondering who the main protagonist was.


Now for some points I didn't like:


  • There was some holes in the storyline where I believed something was true and then finding out some point later on it's not. Maybe it's just me and not reading it properly.
  • The ending kind of left me speechless and mouth agape. And not, altogether, in a good way. Near the end the story dramatically changed its course without any hint of forewarning and it was like suddenly all hell broke loose. Having finished the book, scratching my head, I had to go back to the last few chapters just to try and comprehend what happened. And even after my second re-read, I still wasn't 100% certain what occurred.


Despite the confusing finale, I had a great time reading this book. The action scenes had me breathless and the eerie scenes had me almost cowering in fear. Seth Skorkowsky is an author I'll definitely be keeping an eye on, and I hope in the future he tries his hands on horror, because he has real talent in evoking feelings of dread in his readers.

Conclusion


For fans who want to see vampires and demons actually behave... you know, like evil monsters then I highly recommend this book. One of the best urban fantasy books I've read for sometime.

Just a word of caution; there's a lot of gore, violence and death, so maybe not one for kids - unless your called Damien.

Out of 10 Stars:


8

***
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