Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman & Dead Eye: The Skinwalker Conspiracies by Jim Bernheimer (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted in Fantasy Literature on January 17th, 2012 by Admin

Official Jim Bernheimer Website
Order “Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman” HERE
Read an excerpt HERE
Order “Dead Eye: The Skinwalker Conspiracies” HERE
Read an excerpt HERE

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Jim Bernheimer lives in Virginia with his wife and two daughters. He has previously worked in the IT field since the past decade. He was inspired to start writing after reading the works of Robert Heinlein, Edgar Allen Poe, J.R.R Tolkien, and C.T. Westcott. He has previously written quite a few short stories which can be found here. By day he works as a Network Admin and runs his own computer consulting firm.
About Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman: My name is Mike Ross. I’m a Ferryman. I help people with ghost problems, or ghosts with people problems. Funny thing, no one ever helps me with my problems. Civil War ghosts bent on killing me, Skinwalkers who just want my body, and a vindictive spirit linked both to my bloodline and my destiny. The dead still hold a good deal of influence over the world, and they don’t want to give it up.

About Dead Eye: The Skinwalker Conspiracies: My name is Mike Ross and I’m a Ferryman – like in the Greek myth. I didn’t ask for, or really want, the job, but I’m trying to make the best of it. Most ghosts are okay and just need a little help to get where they need to go. Unfortunately, there are lots of exceptions, like power-mad psychopaths, spirits still trying to fight battles long since lost, and the worst of the lot – the Skinwalkers. They live vicariously by possessing people and controlling them like puppet masters. Then they toss them aside when they’ve outlived their usefulness. One of them stole some one close to me fifteen years ago, and now I’m going to make that ghost pay.

CLASSIFICATION: The Dead Eye series is a multi volume urban fantasy series which combines the mystery plot aspect showcased in books by John Connolly & Harlan Coben with the dark humor laced prose of Jim Butcher & Tim Marquitz.

FORMAT/INFO: Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman is 258 pages long divided over thirteen numbered and titled chapters. Narration is in the first person solely via Mike Ross. Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman is the first novel of the Dead Eye Chronicles. May 18, 2009 marked the Paperback and e-book publication of Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman via Gryphonwood Press. Cover art is done by Shannon Farrell.

FORMAT/INFO: Dead Eye: The Skinwalker Conspiracies is 248 pages long divided over sixteen numbered and titled chapters (The numbering however is continued from the first book and so the first chapter is numbered fourteen and so the last chapter is twenty-nine). Narration is in the first person solely again via Mike Ross. Dead Eye: The Skinwalker Conspiracies is the second novel in the Dead Eye Chronicles. September 18, 2011 marked the Paperback and e-book publication of Dead Eye: The Skinwalker Conspiracies via Gryphonwood Press. Cover art is done by Shannon Farrell.

ANALYSIS: The Dead Eye series is a urban fantasy series that had its first book released nearly three years and as usual with my past record of discovering books later than usual, I happened upon it last year when the sequel was released. For this review I’ll be jointly reviewing both the books as they run in continuation as the chapter numbering indicates. The blurb details pretty much cover of what the story is about in both cases. However I didn’t know what to expect exactly, of course I had an assumption about it and in a way it was wrong as assumptions usually go.
The first book begins in a laconic fashion with the narrator Mike Ross explaining how he life took its first turn for him after he joined the army and went to Iraq. Things however don’t work out for him abroad as he’s injured in an attack which leaves him visually handicapped and soon is sent back home wherein he receives a new transplant for his damaged right eye. He plans to begin college and so enrolls in a local college called Montgomery College. That is wherein he meets Jenny Goodman, a girl whose interests align a bit with his own, things however soon start taking a weird turn when Mike starts seeing ghosts with his new eye and then finds out his role-to-be as a Ferryman. Ghosts soon start popping up alarmingly around him and he gets embroiled in matters of a supernatural origin involving civil war era ghosts and the origin of Mike’s Ferryman Status.

The second book starts off quite close to the end of the first one and deals with the revelations which occur in it. Mike has some pretty heavy stuff revealed to him in regards to his powers and his ancestry. These revelations put him on a road to dealing with the people who are called Skinwalkers especially since one of them has interfered with his family in the past leading to the current situation in the Ross household. From here the story escalates wildly as the author tries to enmesh the multiple plotlines introduced in the first book along with those rising in the sequel and make the world settings deeper than they are visible. To further discuss any more of the plot would lead to spoilers about its predecessor and so I’m going to refrain from doing such.

The story begins on a very personal front and takes it time to coalesce, until then the reader is given a nice dry overview of life, social standings and other things by the world-weary narrator and even though he’s only twenty-three years old, it doesn’t come off as impetuous or whiny. What also helps the tone of the book is that the narrator Mike Ross who is an everyman hero and who unlike Peter Parker doesn’t even have any superpowers to bank upon. What he does have in spades, is an iron willed determination and a sarcastic sense of humor which keeps the reader chuckling along. The story unlike most urban fantasy stories begins slowly and doesn’t really herald a world completely aligned with the fantastic. The world showcased is very similar to our one in its mundaneness and inanity. However once Mike starts experiencing his new ability is when the story really progresses into the supernatural zone. This plot progression is smoothly enmeshed within the story and I enjoyed how the author showed that while things are heating up on the paranormal front, the normal human part of Mike’s existence isn’t left in a limbo. We find out how his normal life is progressing or rather hampered by the other side.

The ghosts described in this world are as vindictive, moody and as vicious as the humans inhabiting the world alongside them. Mike then discovers certain irregularities involved with his eye transplant and it’s from this turn that the book involves Civil war era history, ghosts, the writing of Edgar Allen Poe and much more. The prose is very accessible and makes for an easy read. The paranormal settings are revealed quite steadily and this helps the reader as nothing is out of the left field except for the twists of the plot. Overall the best parts of the story are its narrative voice, easy prose and difference in the story approach from the usual urban fantasy trappings. The negatives to this story could be that readers who are so used to finding vampires, Lycans and other supernatural folk frequently in their stories might find their absence a bit disorienting, as they are accustomed to. This is however less of a concern in the second book wherein the supernatural aspects are increased exponentially. Another concerning feature is that sometime the sub-plots take a life of their own and threaten to overwhelm the main plot but the author manages to keep them in check in both the books. It’s never made certain whether this is done intentionally to show the chaos in Mike’s life or was something which developed during the writing process.

CONCLUSION: Jim Bernheimer is an author who has done things differently with his urban fantasy books and this just proves that even in an almost saturated sub-genre, one can still use their imagination to craft a story which delights and thrills readers who are fast getting bored of reading all-too-familiar stories every year. For all urban fantasy and mystery readers, these books are definitely worthy of your time & money, as for me I can’t wait to see where the author takes our beleaguered protagonist next and what new travails await the young Ferryman.

Fantasy Book Critic

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Deadcore: Four Hardcore Zombie Novellas (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted in Fantasy Literature on December 26th, 2011 by Admin

Order Deadcore HERE
INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
1) Randy Chandler is the author of the two solo novels Bad Juju and Hellz Bellz, and authored Duet for the Devil with T. Winter-Damon. Randy has previously worked as a magazine editor/publisher, a freelance book reviewer, a mental health worker, a gas-pump jockey, an ambulance attendant, a soldier in Vietnam and a funeral home flunky.

2) David James Keaton’s short fiction has recently appeared in the Comet Press dark crime anthology The Death Panel, as well as Plots With Guns, Thuglit, Espresso Stories, Big Pulp, Six Sentences, Pulp Pusher, and Crooked. He is a contributor to The College Rag and the University of Pittsburgh’s online journal Hot Metal Bridge. He’s also a graduate student in the MFA program at Pitt.

3) Edward M. Erdelac was born in Indiana, educated in Chicago, and lives in the Los Angeles area with his family. He is an award winning screenwriter, an independent filmmaker, and sometime contributor to Star Wars canon. Author of the Merkabah Rider series, his weird westerns that have found audiences on both sides of the pond. he’s way pleased for the opportunity to take a left turn and give rein to his rabid admiration for old school chanbara movies, Romero, and the great Kazuo Koike here.

4) Ben Cheetham’s short fiction has won awards and been published in numerous magazines and anthologies in the UK, US and Australia. Most recently Voice From the Planet (published by Harvard Square Editions) and Fast Forward: The Mix Tape, A Collection of Flash Fiction. He’s a 2010 Pushcart Prize nominee. He’s also completed his first novel and lives in Sheffield UK with his family.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: What do the undead have in common? They’re dead. But that is where the similarities end in Deadcore. Join authors Randy Chandler, Ben Cheetham, Edward M. Erdelac, and David James Keaton as they unleash the carnage while breathing new life, and death, into the genre with four unique and zombie-licious novellas.

DEAD JUJU - He’s the mystery man on the news. Where he shows up, the shit goes down. The dead are rising, the immigration issue has reached the boiling point, the living are screwed, and unspeakable acts are being performed upon all involved. In this tale of Zombies Gone Wild, yes the dead walk but just where the hell are they going and why? Dead Juju gives you the hardcore truth, if you’re ghoul enough to handle it.

NIGHT OF THE JIKININKI – After a comet is observed in the western sky of feudal Japan, a murdered inmate rises from the dead and attacks his fellow prisoners. Three disparate men: a casteless bandit, a mad, child-eating monk, and a renowned but sadistic samurai band together to escape the walled and moat-surrounded prison as it fills with the walking and ravenous dead.

ZEE BEE & BEE (A.K.A. PROPELLER HATS FOR THE DEAD) – At a “Zombie Bed & Breakfast” tourist trap, guests pay for the thrill of a staged zombie assault during an apocalyptic scenario, acted out by sluggish hotel workers who are well-versed in the zombie genre. But soon the script doesn’t go as planned, the guests become uncooperative, and the actors are taking their roles very seriously these days.

ZOMBIE SAFARI – Survivors of a zombie apocalypse have carved out new existences on islands, only visiting the mainland to hunt zombies. But things start to go wrong. Zombies don’t die as they should. Hunters go missing. A trip that’s supposed to be fun turns into a struggle for survival as four men makes a discovery that causes him to question not only what it means to be a zombie, but what it means to be human.

FORMAT/INFO: Deadcore is 217 pages long divided over four novella parts. Narration is both in the third-person and first person for the different novellas. The book is edited by Cheyl Mullenax. September 30, 2010 marked the e-book and trade paperback publication of “Deadcore” via Comet Press.

ANALYSIS: Deadcore is a book which was released last year and was completely missed by me and most reviewers. I happened upon it on Goodreads a couple of months earlier and upon seeing the blurb details, I was heavily intrigued by the variety and the imaginative spectrum offered. One of the authors Ed Erdelac kindly offered a review copy and since I was already a fan of his Merkabah series, I was extra excited to see how his historical story would match along with the zombie safari, the bed & breakfast story, etc.

The first story is Dead Juju by Randy Chandler and is the longest novella of the collection. It’s a pretty hardcore zombie story detailing the beginning of the apocalypse. Of course the tipping point in this story is the presence of a gigantic eye in the sky which has blinked and causes all sorts of weird stuff to begin. The story has been divided into 29 further sections which has various characters interacting and facing off against zombies and ghouls. The story is mostly set in Arizona and a bit in Mexico as well. The story totally sets the tone for the book as it has action, gore, violence, sex in enormous amounts and begs the question as to what is truly happening and is it the end of the world? It also brings faith & religion in to the equation of life but not in a way which upsets they rhythm of the story. A wild ride and with an ending which leaves the readers as shocked as it does with its opening. Dead Juju opens Deadcore with a visceral thrill which is hard to ignore and equally tough to stomach.

The next story is Zee Bee & Bee, it’s a story set in first person about a bed and breakfast where newly and otherwise married couples go to “pretend” attacked by zombies. While on the face of this story, it sounds a bit silly however kudos to David James Keaton who manages to upstage the settings with his ferocious pace as well as the nods to the various zombie odds and ends which have populated so many movies and books. The story is majorly about the characters who play various types of zombie and the narrator vividly describes the scenes adding his own sense of understanding which brings another layer to the proceedings. A little less violent than the preceding novella however Zee Bee & Bee has a rather dark ending which again matches up the story to the earlier one in its grimness.

The third story of the book was the one which I was looking forward to the most called “Night of the Jikininki” by Ed Erdelac. This tale is set in 1737 feudal Japan and features three remarkably dark characters, all of whom are stuck in the Fukuyama han prison for various reasons when a comet passes by and awakens the dead. Thereby setting off a horrid turn of events to which none are spared. The author has discussed quite a bit about the origins of this tale on his blog which makes for a fascinating read by itself however readers should be warned as it has minor spoilers for the story. Whilst keeping it horror-tinged, the author has very smartly also included commentary about the feudal situation in Japan and especially about the downtrodden class that is known as the “Eta”. Cleverly merging Japanese folklore and societal structure in a thrilling race to survive, the author’s efforts clearly make this tale a special one and one to be savored. Clearly this tale became my favorite based on its inventive approach and suspenseful handling of its twists. The ending again in line with the collection is a very dark one and potentially underlines the cruel nature of fate.

The last story is Zombie Safari by Ben Cheetham and one which will interest the hunters among all the readers. Set in the post apocalyptic near future wherein zombie hunting has become a favorite of the surviving humans. The narrator of this story is a person called Mikey who’s recently lost his dad who was a great hunter and passed several valuable nuggets of information. The zombie classification in this tale is also something in line with the hunting and scientific themes of this novella world. The story is spread out over seven days set in the hunting reserve and the author has cleverly populated this story with various characters who are stereotypical in such situations but has also riddled the story with a couple of twists which will stun the reader as they read them. The story starts as a typical one wherein things go off-kilter for reasons revealed in the story and the ending twist was the best one amongst all the stories of this collection making it the second best novella for me amid the four stories. Poignantly written scenes are interspersed with hunting minutiae to make it a rich story and keep readers thoroughly entertained. Ben Cheetham’s contribution rounds off the collection nicely and savagely in its own way.

All the four stories have one thread in common with the title of combining hardcore elements with zombie stories, these stories are vividly written and are definitely not for everyone. Especially certain scenes in the first two novellas have a certain stomach turning quality to them without being overtly revolting. The remaining two stories do not fall far behind in gore and action sequences wherein one’s imagination will be stretched by the generous descriptions. Lastly I believe these stories were chosen for their imaginative settings and clever twists to zombie stories. Therefore this collection is definitely a standout one because of this very reason however by that very reason it also becomes a book which is definitely not for everyone’s tastes.

CONCLUSION: Deadcore is an enigmatic collection which Zombie enthusiasts have to read to see the verisimilitude showcased within. Taking zombies and mixing with a heady mix of violence, social commentary, human attitude and various other emotions, Deadcore manages to surprise and shock its readers thoroughly. It is a collection that will stay in the reader’s mind for a long time to come.

Fantasy Book Critic

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Stirred by J.A. Konrath & Blake Crouch (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted in Fantasy Literature on December 21st, 2011 by Admin
Official Blake Crouch Website
Official J. A.  Konrath Website
Order “Stirred” HERE
Read FBC’s Review of “Serial Killers Uncut” by Jack Kilborn & Blake Crouch
Read FBC’s Review of “Run” by Blake Crouch
Read FBC’s Review of “Afraid” by Jack Kilborn
Read FBC’s Interview with Blake Crouch

ABOUT BLAKE CROUCH: Blake Crouch was born in Statesville, North Carolina and graduated in 2000 with degrees in English and Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina. He has written five previous novels and a host of short stories. Two of his stories have been previously optioned for film adaptation. Blake currently lives in Durango, Colorado with his wife.
ABOUT J. A. KONRATH: J.A. Konrath is the award-winning author of the Jack Daniels series. He is also the editor of the hitman anthology “These Guns For Hire”, and his short stories have appeared in more than sixty magazines and collections. As Jack Kilborn, the author has written the horror novels Afraid, Trapped, Endurance and Draculas. He currently lives in a suburb of Chicago with his family.
OFFICIAL PLOT SYNOPSIS: Lt. Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels has seen humanity at its most depraved and terrifying. She’s lost loved ones. Come close to death countless times. But she always manages to triumph over evil. Luther Kite is humanity at its most depraved and terrifying. He’s committed unthinkable acts. Taken human life for the sheer pleasure of it. He is a monster among monsters, and no one has ever caught him. Each is the best at what they do. Peerless. Unmatched.
Until now…
In Luther‘s experience, people are weak. Even the strong and fearless break too easily. He wants a challenge, and sets his depraved sights on Jack. But with a baby on the way, Jack is at her most vulnerable. She’s always been a fighter, but she’s never had so much to fight for. So he’s built something especially for Jack. His own, private ninth circle of hell – a nightmare world in a forgotten place, from which no one has ever escaped.
It’s J.A. Konrath‘s greatest heroine versus Blake Crouch‘s greatest villain in Stirred, the stunning conclusion to both Konrath’s Lt. Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels thriller series and Crouch’s Andrew Z. Thomas series.
Only one can survive. And it won’t be whom you think.
FORMAT/INFO: Stirred is 400 pages long divided over three Parts, an Intermezzo and an epilogue. Also included are Authors’ introduction, a character cast, storyline endnotes, bonus features, afterword and various excerpts from the authors’ books. Narration is mostly in the third-person via Luther Kite, Donaldson, Lucy, Phineas Troutt, Herb Benedict and many other characters. A first-person POV is also provided for Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels. Stirred can be read as a standalone, but it will have been useful to have read Serial Killers Uncut and or Shaken before hand to gain a deeper understanding of the story/saga so far.
November 22, 2011 marked the e-book publication of “Stirred” via  Thomas & Mercer, the print division of Amazon Publishing. The paperback will be released on February 21, 2012. Cover art is provided by Jeroen ten Berge.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Stirred is a book for which both authors have been building up anticipation for their reading audience. The first collaboration between both these authors was “Serial” which was a download bonanza, and was the stepping stone in regards to the unification of their individual written worlds. Following in that direction, the authors soon expanded their collaborative efforts with Serial Uncut, Killers, Birds of Prey, etc…  All of these books along with newer material were combined into a single volume called Serial Killers Uncut, which was a huge success as well as loved by the fans. I especially liked the book and was waiting to see how it would end in Stirred as I also read Shaken the penultimate book in the Jack Daniels series. Before starting on with the review for Stirred, I’ll do a brief overview of Shaken before proceeding to the review.
  Shaken was released earlier this year and is the seventh book in the Jack Daniels series, what was especially special about this book was that it had qualities of a prequel and sequel bundled smoothly within. The story has three distinct threads featuring Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels in three different time periods of her life, the first time period is set twenty years ago, the second timeline being focused on events three years ago and lastly the third plot is set in present day. The focus of the story was on Mr. K, a killer of note and one who has refined his methods over decades. The three timelines showcase Jack struggles with him in these various time-periods.  The best part about the book is its ending and how it ties into this book, via the presence of Luther Kite who has set his sights on Jack as he sees her as his ultimate competitor via bonds of alpha predators.
 There’s also a tie-in to this book via several chapters from Serial Killers Uncut as Luther, Donaldson & Lucy return and are worse for the wear. The story begins with Jack who is now nearly eight and half months pregnant, this however hasn’t necessarily dulled her senses and she is now even more alert. Due to reasons revealed in the climax of Shaken, Jack’s friends and everyone around her is hyper alert for the presence of Luther Kite and his plans. The biggest problem is while Jack is about to deliver, she just plain refuses to accept her physiological condition thereby further endangering her own life as well as that of her baby. Luther on the other hand has been rather inspired by Dante and his most famous work and goes about his enigmatic ways to recreate the nine circles of hell in an abandoned are of the country as well targeting several other individuals to raise the stakes of his grand plan. Thus begins the final chapter in the worlds of Jack Daniels and Luther Kite, wherein only one predator can survive and for that to happen the other must be terminated as that is the only way to survive.
 This book while building upon the two previous titles does its absolute best to out thrill both the previous titles. This book is supposedly the end to not just one but two series of two different authors. Not only does it raise the stakes twice over but it also raises the question how effectively two authors can jointly write a saga and manage to make their numero uno character come out on top. As a fan of the Jack Daniels series, it was hard to imagine what fate would befall her however in the back of my mind, I knew J.A. Konrath planned to write a series about Jack’s grandson thereby ruining the surprise a bit but knowing the author’s deviousness and previous book plots, it could have very well turned out that Jack could still be dead and her baby might survive.
 This book’s strongest point is in its visceral twists and turns, Luther Kite strongly moulds the story alongside his devious plan that causes Jack and her friends but the readers as well to rack their brains as to what might be his ultimate aim.  This aspect along with the plot’s express pace is what makes this book an excellent thriller as well as one of the best serial killer titles. The authors have to be lauded for their ingenuity in coming up with all the twists for this tale and also for planning the ultimate twist in the climax of this story. I had raised a question in regards to a certain plot occurrence in Serial Killers Uncut, which was severely contradicted by events taking place in Shaken. I had raised this query in my review and also asked Blake Crouch for clarification, to which he had replied that everything will be revealed in Stirred and to my surprise it was. The contradiction plays perfectly into the massive twist planned by the authors and kudos to them for planning and executing it.  All in all this I couldn’t put down the book once I started it and as far as thrillers go, this is what every thriller aims for. As for as any negative points to this book, I couldn’t find many. Some readers might take umbrage with some of the twists as well as some of the things which occur might be near impossible for a nearly full term woman to do all of which Jack Daniels does.  But if we start questioning too much into these events, the thriller aspect might just fall apart completely.  I think that while such issues can be detrimental to the story they can’t be completely ignored. Take the book for what it is, a thriller book featuring serial killers of the most depraved kind and a cop who hunts them at the expense of her own life as well as that of her near & dear ones. It’s not a medical manual about what severely pregnant females can and cannot do.
CONCLUSION: A fitting finale to two series and with more action and intrigue packed in it to satisfy the most veteran readers. Stirred brings a strong, emotionally satisfying end to a saga of various characters with almost no room for ennui of any kind. Once again J.A. Konrath & Blake Crouch effectively show why they can be counted upon in the future to write plots mixing cerebral & visceral thrills and to thoroughly entertain their fans.

Fantasy Book Critic

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Interview with Kelly Gay (Interviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted in Fantasy Literature on December 12th, 2011 by Admin

Official Author Website

Read my review of The Better Part of Darkness

Read my review of The Darkest Edge of Dawn

Read FBC review of The Hour of Dust and Ashes


Kelly Gay is an urban fantasy writer to whom I was introduced earlier this year. Her books were an interesting read as they showcased some of the best urban fantasy fare mixed with good characterization. I was curious to know more about her plans for her series, her writing style and her interests, read ahead to know more about Kelly‘s thoughts on the aforementioned topics. My thanks to Kelly for being so considerate and for agreeing for this interview midst her hectic schedule.

Q: Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic. To start with, could you tell us what inspired you to be a writer , what experience you went through in finding a publisher, how you ended up with Pocket, and anything else you’d like to share about yourself?

Kelly: Thanks for the welcome!

Hmm, let’s see… Well, honestly, I have no idea where the inspiration comes from, or why I’m compelled to make things up. I’ve been inspired to tell stories since before I could remember (so say my parents who recorded me on cassette tapes making up wild tales as a toddler). The need to delve into make-believe never went away, and by the time high school rolled around and college, careers, and the future came into play, I just always knew I wanted to have a career in writing. I remember reading Anne Rice in class, thinking, “God, I want to do this too. I can do this.”

At first I focused on plays and screenplays, but gradually switched over to fiction. And so began a long process of about fifteen years wherein I went from one job to another while writing, submitting, and getting rejected over and over and over again. In 2008, I landed my second agent and one of the places she submitted to was Pocket and I’ve been with them ever since.

Q: Could you explain how the genesis of the Charlie Madigan series occurred? How long have you been working on it and how much has it evolved from its original idea (if any)?

Kelly: Charlie came to me back in 2005/2006 as this full blown 31 yr old single mom with a complex personal life, and a stable job set within an alternate version of our world. Typical of her, I guess, to just show up ready to go like that! I gave a lot of consideration to the typical UF heroine tropes, and wondered if readers would be open to something a bit different, an older heroine, who already knows who she is, has been married and divorced, has a child, and has a stable background. I decided to go for it. I couldn’t let go of the idea of mother protecting her young, and how awesome that would be to see in a kick-ass UF heroine. To me, it made the entire venture more exciting and gave me so much to work with.

Charlie has definitely evolved since the first book, but this has been the idea from the very beginning. I wanted to start her out with still a few things to learn; a few things she needs to come to terms with and change about herself. I think it’s easy, especially as a person ages, to sink into habits and patterns without even realizing it. And that’s what’s happened with Charlie, and through the series, she realizes some things she’s been doing that aren’t so great. I wanted that to be very real, a natural progression of personal realization/growth.

Q: When you first began writing “The better part of Darkness” did you plan it to be the first book in the series or was it a standalone in which you saw further possibilities?

Kelly: Yes, definitely first book in a series. At first, I envisioned a trilogy and had a faint idea in my head about how the overall story arc would go. (It was all very vague at the time and didn’t turn out anything like I imagined it would!)

Q: In regards to book & series titles, whilst most series have a certain naming pattern like the Magic Series by Ilona Andrews or the Western movie titles for the Hollows series by Kim Harrison, yours doesn’t have a series title yet and had a pattern with the first two books but wasn’t the case with the third, why do you think this is so?

Kelly: For titles, I was okay with leaving the word ‘dark’ (and all its variations) behind after the first two books (that’s not to say that if it works in a subsequent title I wouldn’t use it). Our goal with each title is just to try and keep the same, or close to the same, syllables, rhythm, and evoke the same kind of tone the series evokes as a whole. And, of course, to bring some of the story out in the titles.

We’ve never officially named the series and just refer to the books as the Charlie Madigan Series or the Charlie Madigan Books. Which is okay with me. I don’t feel like they have to have a certain name. Before the second book, there was some talk about naming the series, but it never really went beyond that. I think everyone – me, my editor, and publisher – is cool with just having Charlie front and center as a series name.

Q: What was the reason/s for you choosing Atlanta as the primary setting for the books? And will you be exploring the world beyond the city in future volumes?

Kelly: Atlanta was chosen because I wanted a hot, southern city large enough to support a large population of off-worlders. The fact that there is an actual Underground sealed the deal because I was able to transform that into a new, expanded neighborhood for the beings from other worlds.

I plan to explore more of the worlds beyond Atlanta, for sure. A large chunk of the fourth book, SHADOWS BEFORE THE SUN, which comes out next July, takes place in Elysia. And I’d like to explore more of all three worlds in the future.

Q: Who are your literary idols and while growing up what books did you read which made you such an avid reader?

Kelly: Walter Farley, Tolkien, Mary Stewart, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Anne Rice. THE MISTS OF AVALON, an INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE really stuck with me, and made such an impact during my teenage years. THE BLACK STALLION was a huge one for me as a kid… and all those Time Life books on ancient civilizations… Good stuff. I still have those, actually. And Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy…

Q: You have a YA fantasy series under the name of Kelly Keaton of which the first book is out, could you tell us about it as well as what other ideas/books you would like to write about in the future

Kelly: The title is DARKNESS BECOMES HER and its set in a creepy version of New Orleans, which has been abandoned by the United States and sold to a private entity known as the Novem. Fast forward 13 years later where my character, Ari, enters the city searching for clues about her past and embroiling her in an ages-long war between the gods and the monsters they created. The sequel, A BEAUTIFUL EVIL comes out in Feb, 2012.

I just finished up the fourth Charlie Madigan novel, and that was the last book in my contract. So the future is wide open right now. I’d like to write more Charlie, but that depends on my publisher. I can say that I’ve been itching to write a book about Pendaran, the Druid King (a character in the Charlie books) and will probably do so regardless – he’s a fascinating character and has a story to tell…

Q: Both your series have strong female protagonists. Was it by choice or just an aspect of your writing which suited the story to be seen through a female perspective?

Kelly: A bit of both. I seem drawn to the strong female archetype, to heroes and warriors, whether they be actual warriors or warriors at heart. There is the nobility and honor factor, the sacrifices made, the ‘take no prisoners’ attitude, and all the things within that character’s life that made them this way or that propels them to keep fighting, and to keep fighting when all is lost. It’s funny because even in gaming, I always end up picking the warrior classes, always want to be the tank and jump in swinging. I’ll give other classes a try, but it never feels right, and I always go back to the warriors and physical fighters…

Q: It has been mentioned that you love ancient history, mythology & pre-Raphaelite art, I share a couple of those interests with you. What specific areas in history and mythology have you besotted?

Kelly: Oh, yes, a huge lover of all things ancient – Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Celtic. I also love the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages…. But those first four have had me enthralled since I was a kid.

Q: All three titles in the Charlie Madigan series are written in the first-person which is very common for urban fantasy novels. Why do you think this is and what do you feel are the differences between first-person and third-person narratives?

Kelly: Well, I think first person really gives a reader deep access to a particular character; it can really grab you and feel very immediate, right in the thoughts and actions… And it works well in UF because it’s all about the main character’s journey, so seeing everything through their eyes fits very well.

There are limitations, though, which makes third person very attractive because you can get inside the heads of multiple characters if you want and you can tell a story from a more omniscient POV. In the fourth Charlie book, I wrote some scenes from Charlie’s partner, Hank’s POV– in third person. I had so much fun with it and it was nice for me, and hopefully for readers, to get a peek inside of Hank’s head during a very traumatic time in his life. In this case, I felt in was necessary to the plot and character development to allow a few scenes of Hank to be shown through his eyes.

Q: You have this fascinating concept of twin worlds which have opened up to Earth and its denizens, the names Elysia & Charybdon seem to be very similar to certain Greek mythological terms, was that the case?

Kelly: Yes! I can’t help it; the Greek influence is strong in me…

Q: You currently have two vastly different series ongoing, how do you go about writing them [do you delineate different time periods for writing them or do you write depending on how you feel each day] could you explain your writing methods? And particularly about the discipline required to produce 2 books an year!

Kelly: There is no method to my madness. I’m terrible at delineating anything. I would love to work on whatever story I felt more creative about at the time, but I don’t manage my time well enough to do that. So I end up working on whatever book is coming due and it’s usually a mad dash to get to the finish line.

My actual writing method is all over the place. I write each book however it wants to be written. I can’t seem to write a story in the same way as far as plotting, outlining, writing-by-the-seat-of-my-pants… I’ve written scenes out of order, endings first, etc… Things are very cyclical with me. It used to be that I loved writing rough drafts and hated editing. Now I hate rough drafts with a passion and cannot wait to get to the editing stage. It’s always changing and it might sound schizo and chaotic, but my process (or lack thereof) works for me.

I often work on more than one project at once – usually rough drafting one while doing revisions or copy edits on another, which I don’t mind. Last year, my schedule ended up with me writing two rough drafts at the same time, both due within two weeks of each other. That wasn’t fun.

Q: Even though your series embraces a number of urban fantasy tropes, you also have made a rather strong effort to twist reader expectations and keep them entertained. What are your thoughts on these tropes in general and how did you decide what tropes you wanted to utilize and which you didn’t?

Kelly: I don’t really give too much thought to tropes or conventions when I’m working and creating; twisting things and doing the unexpected is more of a natural preference than conscious effort, if that make sense. I get a lot of satisfaction out of writing the unexpected, and bringing new things to the table in terms of world-building and characters. That’s what makes creating so much fun for me personally.

There are genre tropes and parameters, sure, and they help define the genre. I see tropes and tried-and-true genre conventions as basic spring-boards that can launch an idea into a gazillion different places. I think to compete in this genre, you have to make a trope/convention your own, you have to twist it in some new way, in order to grab readers and give them a reason to stick with you. There is a fine balance here though because (I think anyway) readers want something fresh and unique, but they love the genre, too, so they want to see this uniqueness happen within some familiar genre boundaries.

Q: In closing, what are you working on now and any parting words for your fans?

Kelly: I am working on . . . nothing – yay! :-) Revision notes for SHADOWS BEFORE THE SUN will be coming soon, so I’ll have those to contend with. Then, I’ll probably fool around with some ideas that have been on the back burner or start working on The Druid King.

Parting words to my readers? It’s difficult to put into words knowing the crazy ideas and stories that come out of my head actually entertain people. They actually care about the characters and the journey as much as I do. Knowing that is just about the coolest thing on earth. Having fans invested and engaged, supporting the series, and giving the books a chance—Gods, I love you, readers! Thank you! :-)

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Zero Sum by B. Justin Shier (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted in Fantasy Literature on December 7th, 2011 by Admin

Official Author Website
Read FBC’s review of Zero Sight
Read FBC interview with B. Justin Shier
Order the Book HERE
Read an Excerpt HERE (Amazon) and HERE (Barnes & Noble)
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Brian Justin Shier was born in New Jersey, grew up in Las Vegas before attending college in St. Louis. He then relocated to California wherein the medicine bug struck him and he’s now a third year medical student. He was inspired by J. A. Konrath to go the indie route and has had quite a response to his debut novel. He is currently working on the third Zero Sight novel tentatively titled Zero Tango.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: My name is Dieter Resnick. I was planning to turn eighteen in May, but I don’t think I’m gonna make it. I’ve just been drafted into a war. And this war isn’t usual. It’s kinda sorta fought with spells.
Six months ago today, I was my high school’s valedictorian. Now I’m Elliot College‘s newest combat-certified mage, and one of the few to survive a Talmax raid. I’ve got a weft-partner named Rei Acerba, whose hobbies include flaying the skin off her foes and perusing the sunscreen aisle. I’ve got a tutor named Jules Nelson, who spends her evenings talking to trees. And I’ve got a friend named Jay Dante, who tends to vanish when I need him most.
We’re all part of a team called Lambda, and we’ve been ordered into the middle of a battle between North America’s magical factions. The warriors of Talmax are surging up from the South. The Department of Mana Affair‘s once omnipotent DEA agents have been left cowering behind their wards. Our job is to reveal the enemy’s secret weapon–before they take ownership of the entire West Coast!
FORMAT/INFO: Zero Sum is 450 pages long divided over three titled parts and twenty-two numbered and titled chapters. Narration is in the first-person, solely via the protagonist Dieter Resnick. Zero Sum is the second volume in the Zero Sight series and has a standalone plot and while it can be read on its own, it would be preferable to read it after Zero Sight to better understand its nuances & plot points.
November 22, 2011 marked the self publication of Zero Sum by the author. Cover design is done by Jordan Kimura.
CLASSIFICATION: Combining the maverick humor of the Dresden files by Jim Butcher with the school settings of the Harry Potter series, Brian J. Shier’s books can be summed up perfectly as Harry Dresden meets Kvothe Kingkiller with just a generous helping of the Harry Potter charm.
ANALYSIS: Brian Justin Shier’s debut was an eye opener in terms of surprises & debut books. I was truly astonished to see how well written it was and what it hinted about the saga to come ahead. Going into the sequel, I had very high expectations and was waiting to see how it would measure up against its predecessor.
The story begins almost immediately after the events of the climax of Zero Sight. However before the journey begins, we get a crucial glimpse into Dieter’s past which I believe shows how mentally strong Dieter is and how events such as the one shown will play an important role in the future events of his life. The climatic events of the previous book heavily factor in to the start of this book wherein we are introduced to more about the geo-political nature of the current power struggles in North America. Dieter’s unit, the Lambda squad gets outfitted as an attack squad due to the potential of its members. They go through a grueling but short training period wherein they are told of their objective and then broken into smaller groups and sent to Las Vegas to unsettle Talmax and its operatives.
The settings of this tale follow almost the reverse order of Dieter’s journey in the first book and this was a very cool antithesis planned by the author. As with the earlier book Dieter is the sole narrator of the story and once again the reader is regaled by his witty observations, teenage inexperience and overall die-hard nature which makes him the special fool that the readers know and love him to be. One of my points I had raised in my previous review that amongst the cast of characters present in the book, none had been featured very vividly. Well the author has nicely remedied this front as we get to know more of Rei Acerba Bathory, Jules Nelson and a few other members of the Lambda squad. Characterization as with the last book is still a strong point and in this book we get to see more of the people around Dieter and their thoughts & opinions. Some characters from the past book also make an appearance and we learn more about them but the center stage is shared by two of his close friends (Jules & Rei) and Dieter’s bonds with both of them will surely be one of the major plot points of the future books.
The infectious energy of the first book is still present and makes this read an ultra-entertaining one again. Another electrifying feature of the story is that the world is expanded as is the magic system, this particular aspect of the saga is something which is particularly mined in this book and it proclaims the epic-ness of the story rather strongly. The action and intrigue in this story have been escalated as per the direction which the plot is taking and all of this doesn’t seem forced at all. Another particular point which I though was excellent was the usage of a particular point in US-Mexico relations. The author masterfully utilizes history to lay down the entanglements of this particular story and I haven’t seen use of such history in the many urban fantasy novels read. This not only raises the reader’s interest but also raises the question as to what all events in the past will come in to play with the future of this series.
And with everything going on, this time around the climax is a powerful one with several twists to it. Not only does the author end it on a strong note but he manages a poignant one. The particular climatic events not only give us a dramatic feel but raise several questions about the main protagonist and his familial genealogy. Combined with the ending and all the revelations present in this book, Zero Sum manages to overcome reader expectation completely and one-up its predecessor in almost all categories.
With this book I had almost next to nothing to nitpick about its contents, while the last book had a rather weak ending. That situation has been remedied precisely in this book. Maybe some readers would find a few points to nag about when in the middle of the book, certain events occur which can seem like a lull however I believe they stand crucial to the plot and hence add to the strength of the story.
CONCLUSION: A remarkable story in itself and the superb sequel to one of my favorite debuts of this year and it managed to overcome all of my anticipation. Expanding the world and adding depth to the story, Brian has to be lauded for delivering a rich story without shedding its earlier uniqueness. Zero Sum continues the magical journey undertaken by Dieter and beckons the reader to come along and enjoy what is to be, an urban fantasy series to rival the best amongst the ones out so far.

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Legend by Marie Lu (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted in Fantasy Literature on December 5th, 2011 by Admin

Official Author Website
Read an excerpt HERE
Order the book HERE
Watch the Trailer HERE

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Marie Lu was born in China but grew up in Texas, she was born in the year which is also the title of George Orwell’s most famous book. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Political science. She has previously worked as a flash & concept art developer at Disney Interactive studios as well as the lead artist designing MMO games for Hollywood Interactive Group, Inc. She also created Fuzz academy, a children’s brand featuring a host of school-attending fuzzy animals that emphasize education and environmentalism. Marie Lu has also held the art director position at Online Alchemy, a video game company. Legend is her debut book and has also been acquired by CBS films with Jonathan Levine set to direct the movie.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy. Obedient, passionate, and committed to her country, she is being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums of the Republic’s Lake Sector, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother is murdered. And Day becomes the prime suspect. Now, caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival while June tries desperately to avenge her brother’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together and the sinister lengths their country will go to in order to keep its secrets.

CLASSIFICATION: The Legend series is a dystopian YA series set in 2130 AD wherein the main series of events takes place on the flooded coast of former Los Angeles. The main stage of theater is led by the two warring nations of North America—the Republic and the Colonies. The book follows closely the path set by Suzanne Collins Best-selling Hunger Games trilogy of having YA protagonists in a dystopian world.

FORMAT/INFO: the ARC of Legend is 301 pages long spread over two titled sections and further divided over forty non-numbered, POV-titled chapters. Narration is in the first-person for Day and June Iparis. Day’s chapters are printed in gold while June’s are in the usual black ink. Legend is self-contained and is the first book in the Legend series.

November 29, 2011 marked the North American Hardcover and e-book publication of Legend via G.P. Putnam & sons.

ANALYSIS: Legend by Marie Lu is a book which has garnered huge amounts of pre-release publicity due to movie rights having sold off to CBS Films in a pre-emptive bid. Also helping was the fact that this book was acquired by its publisher in an auction bid. The author’s background also helped with the interest and publicity for the book as she had created a Facebook game around the world of the books, also called Legend that currently has over 13,000 subscribers. I was intrigued by all of this information and was looking forward to see how the story would be.

Legend begins with Day who is a person scorned and hunted by the republic of California for his activities against them. He however is a faceless person to them as never being identified has helped him to a life of anonymity. Things however soon take a downward turn for him as when he’s visiting his family in the lake sector; he finds that his younger sibling seems to have contracted a plague of sorts. To help his sibling Day has to break in the state hospital which leads him to meet Metias Iparis and things go south from there. June Iparis is the golden poster child of the Republic, having secured a score of fifteen hundred on the Trials which every child has to take at the age of ten to determine their future. These trials determine the social status and what type of future the child has. Every child has to take this trial which consists of written, oral and physical examinations and the children who get below a certain score are sent to work in the labor camps, thereby cutting off their contact from society & their family all together. June however is taking things to an extreme in her school often giving her teachers fits with her outrageous stunts as well stunning them with her grades. She however is shocked to learn that Metias has met his death at Day’s hands. She is inducted in the search to apprehend him and is sent undercover on the streets.

This book was inspired by the plot of Les Miserables as the author wanted to see what would happen with a rivalry between June and Day, two charismatic individuals who happen to be on the opposite sides of the coin in this world. The entire story hinges on these two individuals and the author has vividly created two smart and contrasting personas that are both pushed by familial reasons to do what they must. The plot opens up pretty quickly introducing the reader to a dark world wherein class barriers are erected by the state and enforced strictly. The author explains the situation and the characters quickly and without the use of excessive info-dumps.

The pace never slackens and this helps tremendously as the author introduces the twists in the story. This point was more akin to a thriller book as the POV shifts after every chapter as the author builds the tempo and leading up to a fantastic climax. The entire story has a very cinematic feel to it and it is very easy to imagine as a movie which will help when the movie actually releases (though I’m not sure how much similar it will be to the book it since its being helmed by the producers or the Twilight Franchise). The author has a very accessible prose style which helps in portraying the scenario as well as to not overwhelm the reader by the story’s inherent darkness. All these points efficiently convey why it has been getting so many positive reviews.

As much as I liked this book, I have to point out that there was a primary drawback to this story which is that the author only hints at the background of the world and nothing is sufficiently spelled out. One can make out that in the future the East Coast Colonies and West Coast Republic have been fighting a long drawn out war and there will be many more secrets revealed in the future. This can be a deterrent to readers who are looking for explanations. Another factor which irked me was that two crucial story twists hinged entirely on guesses/coincidences and this just went against the character history established so far. For that character to react that way was a bit stretched and in this regards the author fails to truly convince the reader about the direction which the story is taking.

CONCLUSION: An engaging story that is made very accessible by the author’s writing style makes this debut an exciting one. Marie Lu’s Legend will definitely find fans and it will be worth watching what she does in the sequel books. Fans of dystopian & YA fiction will like this new salvo by Marie Lu, check it out if you want to read a good book with interesting characters.

Fantasy Book Critic

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Interview with Brian Justin Shier (Interviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted in Fantasy Literature on November 14th, 2011 by Admin

Official B. Justin Shier Website
Order “Zero Sight” HERE
Read FBC’s Review of “Zero Sight”
(Photo Credit: B. Justin Shier)

Brian Justin Shier’s debut Zero Sight was a surprise for me in terms of its ingenuity, character charm and plot pace. The book completely won me over and made me a fan through and through. I was intrigued by Brian’s background as a medical student who managed to write a book amidst his hectic schedule and with almost no formal background in writing. Read on to find out more about Brian’s roots, his decision to go Indie, long term plans for the Zero Sight series and his future.
Q: Welcome to Fantasy Book Critic. To start with, could you tell us what led you to be a writer in the first place? Also could give us a brief bio?
Brian: Sure, Mihir and thanks for inviting me. I guess my background is a bit odd. I didn’t major in English, and I’ve never even written a short story. I’m a medical student. I spend most of my time memorizing body parts.
I grew up in Las Vegas and studied psychology and marketing at Washington University in St. Louis. It was there that I got my first taste of medicine (working in a lab that revolved around the hormone pathways that influence the stress response). But medicine didn’t snare me then. The long hours scared me, and the idea that random people would let me cut into their bodies kinda freaked me out. But it wasn’t long after I left college that I realized a career in business wasn’t right for me. I missed the science and cutting deals wasn’t for me. Deciding I needed to change, I started taking science courses and volunteering at a hospital in my spare time. Medical school applications were soon to follow.
The whole novel writing thing started back in 2009. At the time, I was living in Sacramento doing a research internship in burn surgery. The research was going great, but I went home to a lonely studio every night. The bar scene wasn’t for me, and I could only bear to listen to so much NPR. Worse still, I’d just finished Jim Butcher’s latest novel, and the next one wasn’t going to be released for months. It was a veritable Dresden drought.
Bored out of my cell culture-addled brain, I started thinking about the contemporary fantasy genre in general. I knew what I liked: the grimy realism, the magic crashing headlong into reality, and the crazed unpredictability that a few tweaks to physics grant an author. I also knew what frustrated me about the genre: the contrived romances, the all too peachy wrap-ups, and those oft-infallible heroes that always manage to simultaneously power-up and moralize their way to victory. Then I had a crazy thought: I wondered if I could do any better.
I decided to take a stab at it. Not write, mind you. Just plot. I started each night with a blank sheet of paper and my daydreams. It was bizarre. I’d never been a big fan of creative writing, the longest paper I’d ever written was an academic paper on insulin intolerance, and I was having a blast scheming out dwarven mating rituals. I approached the process like a giddy scientist. I would propose a plot and then try to tear it all down. But I didn’t dare write any prose. While I was confident I could describe the mechanics of DNA to a pack of high school students, pretending to be a real writer felt like a tremendous act of hubris. The actual urge to write didn’t come until Rei and Dieter’s characters popped into my mind.
Q: What was the precise spark of inspiration which lead to the creation of Dieter & the Zero Sight series?
Brian: A long winter walk in Sacramento! I was listening to “Disarm” by the Smashing Pumpkins when a battered Greyhound bus roared past me. The bus was almost empty, but a teenager with rough-cut hair was sitting in the third row. He had this huge green duffel bag in his lap. I wondered where he was off to. I wondered what was in the bag. Then Billy Corgan sang the wonderful line: “Disarm you with a smile. And cut you like you want me to.” Rei Acerba’s character appeared like a thunderclap. The first version of Zero Sight’s bus sequence was on paper by 4AM the next morning. It was my first attempt at writing fiction. It was love at first sight!
Q: So for someone who hasn’t read any of your novels, how would you describe the type of stories that you write, what would be your pitch for the Zero Sight Series?
Brian: An early fan of the series wrote that Zero Sight is like “Harry Potter on crack.” I set out to write a fantasy novel that you wouldn’t be ashamed to hold hands with at prom. Zero Sight may deliver a ton of violence and hilarity, but none of the fun is free of cost. I’m more than willing to let my characters make foolish decisions, but they are always going to have to pay the bill at the end of the evening.
Q: I believe both your book covers have been done by the same artist, how did you approach her. Or was it the other way around? What was the clinching factor in this partnership? Could you give the readers a brief overview in to the process of making one of the covers?
Brian: A good friend of mine, Sarah Pedersen, did the photography for Zero Sight’s cover. Sarah is a real pro. She’s done photography for a number of commercial projects, and she taught me a lot about how communicate with artists. We shot the cover images the day before my wedding. (I was mixing fake blood next to the lady preparing my wife’s henna.)
Finding a good graphic artist was more of a struggle. There is plenty of talent out there, but only a few individuals are willing to take input and execute tasks on a reasonable timetable. I had two separate efforts fall through before my editor, Jon Steller, introduced me to Jordan Kimura. We spent a good two hours going over the initial concepts, and she offered to create some drafts free of charge. I went home expecting turn around would be around a month, but she had the drafts back to me in less than two days. The whole project was wrapped in under two weeks. I think the key was that initial discussion. Jordan spends a lot of time listening to what I wanted. I think that helped her get close to the mark on the first try.
E-covers are finicky creatures. You have very little control over how they will be displayed. You have to worry about how they will look in both color and black and white. You have to worry about if they will big or small. I’m sure we’ve all seen some marvelous hardcover artwork that turns to sludge when viewed on a monitor. To reduce some of the variables, I shoot for minimalist designs. I make sure that the covers can catch a reader’s interest even at thumbnail size, and that the book titles are always legible.
Q: Nowadays there has been a heady discussion involving self-publishing and many authors such as J.A. Konrath, Barry Eisler and John Rector have also espoused e-books and self releases, what was your reasoning in going the Kindle way for your Zero sight series, did you make an attempt for the traditional publishing route?
Brian: I didn’t attempt traditional. Heck, at first, I didn’t think that Zero Sight was good enough to be published at all. That all changed when a friend (that also happens to be a noted author) gave Zero Sight a read. He urged me to submit the manuscript to some agents. That both shocked and excited me. I read up on all the different publishing houses, collected a list of possible agents, and even wrote up a few of those dreaded query letters. But in the process of learning how to submit a novel for publication, I began to hear rumors that traditional publishing wasn’t the only way. It was the sort of stuff that was only whispered in the dark alleyways behind bookstores, and the only real source of information I could find was an industry blog with the unassuming name “A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing.” The man behind that blog was J.A. Konrath.
J.A. Konrath is a divisive figure. Some authors think he is an entrepreneurial genius, others think he is nothing but a bitter turncoat. But everyone in the industry reads him. Everyone!
A good example of his advocacy is “Are You Dense?”. As you can see, he really didn’t hold back any punches. Also, note the number of comments. There are over 600. Konrath can be crude, Konrath can be abrasive, but he always backs up his arguments with numbers. Some are turned off by his tone, but I spent my whole childhood around gruff men like Konrath. They built a city out of sand.
I think I can sum up Konrath’s philosophy in three simple words: Do. The. Math. (Although, he’d probably add an expletive.)
I did the math myself, and I was rather unsettled by the results. The number of novels a traditionally published author must sell to make any sort of money is astounding. Traditionally published authors only get about 5-15% of the cover price of a book, the rest goes to the publisher. Independent authors on Amazon get 70% of the cover price of an e-book. That means they can sell fewer books at lower prices and still earn a decent living.
I decided to go the indie route for the following reasons:
– The traditional publishing process can take over 3 years
– You only get a small percentage of the sales price
– You surrender creative control to outside parties
– And you still have to spend your own time and money promoting your work.
As a busy medical student just hoping a few people might read my novel, none of this sounded very appealing. But I’m not everyone. I think each author needs to assess their own situation. The needs and wants of a Stephen King are going to be different than those of a mid-list romance author. Blanket statements are dangerous. But you really do need to go through the process. In the end, authors have to be responsible for their own careers.


Q: When you started out did you have an overall plan for the series, was the entire story mapped book by book? How much of the plot do you plan out earlier, or to quote George R.R. Martin “are you a Gardner or an Architect” when it comes to your writing?
Brian: At first I just had a guy and a girl on a bus. Now I know how it all ends, I know vaguely how to get there, and if the car breaks down, I’m prepared to push.
Q: Speaking of the series, how many volumes do you think will be required for Dieter’s saga? How far along are you in the next book, and is there anything you can tell us about books two, three and the series beyond?
Brian: I’ll need at least 8 volumes. Book 2, Zero Sum, is being beta read as we speak. Book 3 is half-written. The working title is Zero Tango. I’ve finished plotting through the 4th. But, Mihir, who says that it is Dieter’s saga? Maybe there is another narrator…
Q: Zero Sight is written in the first-person which is very common for urban fantasy novels. Why do you think this is and what do you feel are the differences between first-person and third-person narratives?
Brian: I think there is a general trend towards more personal stories and that first-person narration makes this easier. Why we now like to roost inside a character’s head is unclear to me. Some argue that fantasy writing is escapist. Maybe the real world has gotten big enough. Maybe a more personal perspective is somehow soothing.
Q: Zero Sight opens up in Las Vegas and goes cross country to end in New Haven. Why New Haven? And will you be exploring the world beyond the in future volumes?
Brian: I really wanted to go to the Yale School of Medicine. I figured that if I wrote a novel set in New Haven that they would accept me for sure. I received a rejection letter instead. Now I’ve decided to unleash a midget army on the city during book 4…maybe.
Q: Even though your series embraces a number of fantasy tropes, you also have made a rather strong effort to twist reader expectations and keep them entertained. What are your thoughts on fantasy tropes in general and how did you decide what tropes you wanted to utilize and which ones not to?
Brian: I love some tropes. For instance, if the trope is featured in The Power of Myth with Joseph Campbell, I try to respect and adopt it. But if a trope has left a bitter taste in my mouth, I tend to get a bit reactionary. One example is the concept of Dark Lords. I hate Dark Lords. Despise them. I reject any and all personifications of Evil. Even the most wretched of us are born to mortal mothers. Every last one of us played with blocks as children. What’s so interesting is why some of us go on to rot. I loved Khan Noonien Singh for that reason. I understood why he wanted to stab at Captain Kirk from the heart of hell. The man cut him too deep. He just couldn’t let go. Explaining away all of a villain’s vices with the “they be evil” trope kills all the fun. So, there will be no Emperor Palpatines or Saurons in my novels, but there will most definitely be heinous acts.

Q: Is there a particular process you follow which goes in the naming of your books? Following on that train of thought why did you pick the title “Zero Sight”?
Brian: Absolutely. The process involves me, a dictionary, and a dartboard. It earns me concerned glances from my wife and sometimes ends with sutures…all joking aside, the books will be ordered alphabetically, and each will serve as a two-word hint as to the plot.
Q: What types of books do you like to read, and who are your favorite authors in the genres which you read? Lastly amongst the current crop of writers who do you feel deserves more recognition?
Brian: I read a lot of medical textbooks. Very few are well written, so the gems tend to stand out. My all-time favorite is William James’ Principles of Psychology, which the author touted as “a loathsome, distended, tumefied, bloated, dropsical mass, testifying to nothing but two facts: 1st, that there is no such thing as a science of psychology, and 2nd, that W. J. is an incapable.” The book is none of those things, and is in fact fascinating reading. I’m also the proud owner of an original 1887 copy of Lippincott’s Intermediate Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene. The now moldy textbook was the sum total of medical knowledge at the time. It totals 221 pages and remains surprisingly accurate.
When I am not gargling medicine, I love to read fantasy. Aside from the obvious shout-out to Jim Butcher, I’ve been influenced by the work of Charlie Huston, John Lindqvist, and the ever-baffling Martin Millar. I prefer Diana Wynne Jones to J.K. Rowling. I prefer Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu to Bram Stoker. My favorite book is Of Mice and Men. My second favorite is To Kill a Mockingbird. Edgar Allen Poe is a god to me, I don’t understand the appeal of Atlas Shrugged, and I am too much of a coward to ever re-read Where the Red Fern Grows.
Who do I think deserves more recognition?
Trad-published: Stacia Kane and her Downside Ghosts Series.
Indie-published: Moses Siregar, author of The Black God’s War.
Q: What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received? Conversely, what’s the dumbest you have encountered?
Brian: “Write only what you know.” It’s both the best and worst advice I’ve ever heard.
Q: What are your plans for the future? What’s next for you in terms of other new projects?
Brian: Become a doctor. I’m leaning towards hematology-oncology as a specialty. I only have two years of medical school, three years of residency, and two years of fellowship training to go.
Q: Lastly as a writer, what are your aspirations? Where do you see yourself in a decade from now?
Brian: I want to finish up the third novel in the Zero Sight Series and get the first two novels out as trade paperbacks. I also have a stand-alone sci-fi novel burrowing a hole in my head, but I need at least three free weeks to write it. (Sad thing about medical school: we use “free” weeks to study.) I can’t see where I’ll be in a decade. I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to get this second novel right; I’m terrified that my initial success might have been a fluke. I guess I’ll just keep writing. The readers can decided where I end up.

Fantasy Book Critic

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“City of the Snakes” by Darren Shan (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted in Fantasy Literature on November 11th, 2011 by Admin

Official Author Website
Order the book HERE
Read an excerpt HERE
Read FBC’s review of Procession Of The Dead
Read FBC’s Review of Hell’s Horizon
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Darren O’Shaughnessy is the much acclaimed author of the “Saga of Darren Shan” and “The Demonata” series. He has previously taken various pen names such as D.B. Shan and Darren Shan which he now uses to differentiate between his adult and YA books. He was born in London but moved to Ireland during his childhood. He currently spends his time between living in the Irish countryside as well as in London. The first book in the “Saga of Darren Shan” was made into a film called “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” and was released a couple years ago.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: For ten years Capac Raimi has ruled the City. Created by the first Cardinal to continue his legacy, Capac cannot be killed.
Then Capac disappears. His trusted lieutenant, Ford Tasso, suspects the mysterious villacs, ancient and powerful Incan priests. To Ford, only one man has the cunning to outwit such adversaries-Al Jeery, who has taken the guise of his father, the terrifying assassin Paucar Wami.
Al has no love for Capac and no wish to tangle with the villacs. Until Ford promises him the one thing he truly craves-retribution against the man who killed those he loved most and destroyed his life. Lured into the twisted, nightmarish world of the Incan priests, Al will learn more about the City than he ever imagined, and be offered more power than he ever desired.
But in the City, everything comes at a cost…
FORMAT/INFO: The hardcover edition of City of the Snakes is 307 pages long divided into four titled parts and an epilogue section. Each section is further divided into titled and numbered chapters for a total of twenty-seven chapters. The Narration is via first person and features Al Jeery for the major part and Capac Raimi for the remaining chapters, the individual narrators of the previous two books. This is the third book in the City trilogy and is set ten years after the events of the first two books. This book will have to be read after the first two to make sense of the over arcing plot and characters and only then can the entire story be wholly appreciated.
June 2, 2011 marked the Hardback publication of City of the Snakes via Grand Central Publishing.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: I was awaiting “City of the Snakes” since the moment I finished “Hell’s Horizon”. I knew that the third book would be taking a time leap and would be featuring characters from both the previous books. After liking the weird but excellent start to the series, I was curious how the author planned to end the series and how would Capac and Jeery interact with each other and what would this mean for the City.
The story opens up ten years after the events of Procession of the Dead and we find that Capac has indeed risen to the top however he’s not been completely able to control his environment. He wonders whether he did the right thing in the climax of Procession of the Dead as things haven’t gone smoothly as per the Cardinal’s predictions. His henchmen have been constantly betraying him and somehow he has started seeing ghosts of past personae. Convinced he’s slowly losing his mind, he turns to Ford Tasso to help him however before he can be of any service, Capac is reunited with a particular person from his past. His besotted entanglement however leads him down a path from where return is nigh impossible. Al Jeery is then contacted by Ford Tasso to locate and retrieve Capac, that however is easier said than done as the usual suspects are the city’s worst kept secret, its Incan priests. As Al slowly makes his way through the twisted lanes of the City, he starts realizing that perhaps Capac was seeing something concrete after all. And the worst nightmare the City has ever faced, the deadly psychopathic assassin Paucar Wami, has returned and perhaps he will want to find out what Al has been up to for the past ten years.
This book is the last book in the trilogy and therefore it does bring into play all the characters which have been introduced so far. This is a good move on the author’s part as it further raises the scales. There is a theme of redemption which plays out between the pages and all characters have to face it. The plot of the book is coalesced a bit from the first two as in the first we had a crusade of one person to rise to the top and in the second there is the search for the missing person. This book manages to combine both these elements and gives the reader something new and familiar at the same time. The plot manages to recreate the intensity of the previous books while giving the characters a push in a newer direction. Both the POV characters are charismatic ones and while Capac does get a smaller role of sorts, he does manage to convey his growth as a character and a crime lord. The real scene stealer is Al Jeery who has spent the last ten years trying to live up a legend so he can find the man who has led him to become the very thing he despises. Al’s growth is very vividly described and the events of this book further test his mettle.
The prose does not disappoint in this one after the excellent turns in the previous books as the author vividly shows the city, its Incan priests and the strange world wherein they inhabit. The book has a strong climax and manages to tie up all the threads which have been introduced so far. I felt this was rather excellent because as a reader I got complete closure from the story. The author also has been brutal with all of his characters as many meet their ends and those who are left alive are worse for wear. Lastly I think the way the author ends the story is rather a mystical one, one can draw inferences from it about what might have happened and all possibilities stand true. The bittersweet nature of the ending does justice to this dark tale and this ending is one which cannot be predicted as well.
Drawbacks were few but present, namely that Capac gets a reduced role. While from a plot point-of-view it is justified, the reader would have definitely benefitted from seeing more of his grey nature. The ending to the story while action-packed ends with a literal bang and perhaps some readers might have liked to read a few more details about it. The book does do its best to keep the tension and intrigue throughout its pages however the weirdness sometimes does overwhelm it.
CONCLUSION: A powerful ending to a dark saga, the characters of the City are not ones which the reader will easily forget. City of the Snakes is a good book to end out a trilogy and it remains to be seen what readers down the line will make of it when they read all the three books together. I for one, enjoyed this gritty, weird urban fantasy story about power, corruption and the redemption of one’s soul. A must read for all readers of the previous books and for those who like their stories dark & with a slice of Noir.

Fantasy Book Critic

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“Silver Shark” by Ilona Andrews (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted in Fantasy Literature on October 15th, 2011 by Admin

Official Ilona Andrews Website
Order “Silver Shark” HERE
Read An Excerpt HERE
Read a detailed review of the Kinsmen series HERE (Bastard Books) 

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Ilona Andrews is the pseudonym for the husband-and-wife writing team of Ilona Gordon & Andrew Gordon. Together, Andrew and Ilona are the co-authors of the New York Times bestselling Kate Daniels urban fantasy series and the romantic urban fantasy novels of The Edge. They live in Texas with their children. 

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: Claire Shannon is a killer. She uses no weapons, only her mind. Born on a planet locked in a long war, Claire is a psycher, a woman with the ability to attack minds and infiltrate a biological computer network where psychers battle to the death. But when the war abruptly ends, Claire must hide her psycher’s ability to survive.

She is deported to a new planet, a vivid beautiful place, where she meets Venturo Escana, a powerful psycher, whose presence overwhelms both her mind and her body. She thought she had left war and death behind, but now she must fight for her new life and this battle might just cost her everything she hold dear… 

FORMAT/INFO: Silver Shark is 96 pages long divided over eight chapters with a prologue and an epilogue. Narration is via first person and the sole narrator is Claire Shannon. Silver Shark has a self-contained plot and is book II in the Kinsmen SF novella series. September 14 2011 marked the e-book publication of Silver Shark and it was self-published by the authors. 

CLASSIFICATION: The authors have called their effort as a mix of SF and Romance. I thought it more akin to Blade Runner meets the Matrix meets Working Girl; this pitch would be a cool way to describe this incredible fun novella. 

ANALYSIS: Silver Shark is a book which I got to read thanks to the authors’ benevolence. I had no idea as to what it entailed or even much about the blurb. All I knew that it had elements of SF as well as romance.

The story opens up in the middle of a war, there’s the planet of Uley wherein two corporations have been fighting a war since the last sixty-eight years. Claire Shannon is a mentally trained warrior called psycher. She leads a team of trained psychers into battle on a daily basis. Things however turn bad for her corporation and she gets deported to the planet of Rada wherein she finds a totally different civilization. They are the same people however their outlook towards life and general attitudes makes them almost seem alien. 

Claire soon finds a job as a non-psycher as to be discovered otherwise means deportation to Uley and certain death. She finds employment in Venturo Escano’s company however finds that she is turning into a different person on this new planet. Thus begins the plot which will have Claire fight with her emotions as well showcase her iron will and determination which has seen her survive the Uleyian purge and perhaps conquer her heart’s desire after all.

While I have no idea about what kind of story this would be, I was certain in my mind that it would be worth my time solely because it was written by Ilona Andrews. The talented duo has shot up within my reading ranks since the past year and if I get a new book from them, it rapidly jumps to the top of my reading queue. This book shares certain characteristics with the Kate Daniels series namely it has a very strong heroine who’s fun to read about, the world building is also intriguing and while its not unique, it does have its own flavor.

The biggest plus point for this story was its narrative energy, from page one the reader gets rapidly introduced to Claire’s world and its from there on we are shown all her struggles and the plot twists, never once even losing any of its energy or becoming dull. The action in this book is top notch and while the novella structure robs the story of its full fledged potential, it does give out a tightly wound story which gives the reader no respite and demands for the reader to turn the page and know what happens next.

This book is a kind of a sequel to the novella Silent Blade which was set on the same world but featured different characters. Both those characters make an appearance and readers of the previous book will get a nice peek into their lives. For those of us (like me) who haven’t read Silent Blade, this does not become a problem as the characters appearance and presence is smoothly explained in the story and is vital from a plot point as well series continuity. Lastly there’s also the romance aspect to the story which I must say is nicely wrapped in the SF trappings of the story and for readers who like me don’t really care for romance tinged stories, this hardly becomes an issue as the authors have given us a very character driven story and this just makes it an enticing read. This novella seems almost set to be translated to the big screen and if this should ever happen I would be first in line to see it.

Now for a couple of foibles about the story, the world building is nicely done and is a bit dystopian as well, however readers will have to take certain things with a pinch of salt as certain plot happenings have a bit of loophole-ish quality to them however in the overall scheme of things don’t cause much of an issue. The biggest quibble could be the ending as the authors leave the stage set and then give out a coda about what happened while this again can be explained by the novella structure, certain readers would have definitely loved to read the happenings. The authors have even commented on this aspect saying that their editor Anne Sowards would have almost certainly never let them get away with such a thing. 

CONCLUSION: I thoroughly enjoyed this story because of its quick pace, plot twists and good characterization. Ilona Andrews have given a quality story which will be enjoyed by readers who have or haven’t read their previous work. Dive in if you would like to read a terrific story about a woman whose life is turned upside down and has to re-learn how to live life all over again to get what she wants. Highly recommended for fans of Paranormal Romance books as well as for fans of Ilona Andrews.

Fantasy Book Critic

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“The Detachment” by Barry Eisler w/Bonus Review of “The Lost Coast” (Reviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

Posted in Fantasy Literature on October 14th, 2011 by Admin

Official Author Website
Order “The Detachment” HERE
Read FBC Interview with Barry Eisler
Read a brief overview of the John Rain series HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Barry Eisler is the author of eight previously published novels. He’s a law graduate from Cornell University and has had quite an eclectic past working in the CIA first, then as an international lawyer working on patents as well as in a silicon valley startup. He has also been a contributor to Huffington post and a couple of other social sites. Earlier this year Barry shook up the publishing world with his decision in regards to his future books. He lives with his family in San Francisco bay area.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS: John Rain is back and is up against his most formidable enemy yet: the nexus of political, military, media, and corporate factions known only as the Oligarchy.
When legendary black ops veteran Colonel Scott “Hort” Horton tracks Rain down in Tokyo, Rain can’t resist the offer: a multi-million dollar payday for the “natural causes” demise of three ultra-high-profile targets who are dangerously close to launching a coup in America.
But the opposition on this job is going to be too much for even Rain to pull it off alone. He’ll need a detachment of other deniable irregulars: his partner, the former Marine sniper, Dox. Ben Treven, a covert operator with ambivalent motives and conflicted loyalties. And Larison, a man with a hair trigger and a secret he’ll kill to protect.
From the shadowy backstreets of Tokyo and Vienna, to the deceptive glitz and glamour of Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and finally to a Washington, D.C. in a permanent state of war, these four lone wolf killers will have to survive presidential hit teams, secret CIA prisons, and a national security state as obsessed with guarding its own secrets as it is with invading the privacy of the populace.
But first, they’ll have to survive each other.
FORMAT/INFO: The Detachment is 292 pages long divided over three parts and thirty-three chapters. Narration is via first person in the case of John Rain and in third person for Dox, Ben Treven & Daniel Larison. Also included is an acknowledgments page, a sources list and recommended reads listing. The Detachment has a self-contained plot however is the first book to feature previous series characters of John Rain and Ben Treven together. Cover art and design provided by Jeroen ten Berge.
September 15 2011 marked the e-book publication of The Detachment and it will be released in Trade paperback format on October 18, 2011 by Thomas & Mercer, the print division of Amazon Publishing.
ANALYSIS: The Detachment is Barry Eisler’s ninth book and the first one to combine both his previous book characters. When the book was announced, it was also announced by the author’s move to the Indie side of publishing. This alone precipitated a heady mix of discussion and still is. For me while his move was intriguing from the business point of view as explained in his interview, it was more exciting to return to the world of John Rain, last seen in 2007’s Requeim for an Assassin. This book would also pick up the plot threads from Inside Out which was # 5 in my top 10 books of 2010. I was anticipating top notch action, clash of personalities and much more, I’m glad to say The Detachment delivers that and much more.
The Detachment begins by re-introducing John Rain who has been living a retired life of sorts but is still proficient enough to notice that there are people tailing him. Turns out that Daniel Larison and Ben Treven and two others have been asked by Colonel Scott Horton to recruit Rain for a particular mission. Rain accepts but not before showing why he’s being considered for a mission. The other person who is sought by them, is Dox and after Rain’s acceptance, he blindly agrees. The plot has them unite due to Horton‘s plan and they truly don’t know whether he’s telling the truth or just playing his games. Thus they set out to finish their tasks not knowing exactly whose goals they are advancing.
The book starts with a terrific premise and then rushes to give the reader an excellent thrill ride all the way. What I loved about the book was its characterization not only does it feature the return of John Rain but also has him mixing with Daniel Larison. With Larison & Rain, Barry has created two enigmatic and deadly individuals and it was a sheer pleasure to see how they would react to each other. To add to the mix there’s Dox as well as Treven and this detachment becomes as stable as old dynamite. They are all lone wolfs who have to act as a team as they are given a substantial amount to do so and are told to kill three people to foil a plot which aims to derail the America as we know of it today.
Another highlight is the character interactions as they showcase the psyche of each individual which is a bonus for ever Eisler fan to read. Through out the story the reader is shown a tremendous glimpse in to the life of a covert operative both official and mercenary. The action in this book is almost nonstop as the author lays about his set pieces and in between them gives the reader dollops of character intrigue. The plot-twists can be a bit predictable however do not detract much from the read. They however will have the reader turning pages to see how it all ends, as for me I read the entire book in one sitting on the day I received it. The prose is very tight and does not waste the reader’s time in extra details however it isn’t so spartan as well not to develop the complete picture. While on the subject of details, it can safely said that the author did his research very well and all the minute facts add to the strength of the subject matter
For fans of Rain & Larison, this book is a goldmine as we get to see them collide with each other and I’m not telling how it all ends, Ben Treven the protagonist of two previous books gets a more secondary role but I’m not complaining as this was a bit expected. He however still plays a crucial role in certain events which sway how the chips line up. Overall the way things end it does seem that there might be further books written about this cast and I for one will be glad to read them.
While this book deserves the praise it gets, there are some points which cannot be overlooked, the biggest plot hole was the lack of a perceivable enemy and while the book does explain a lot in the end. I felt that the author is definitely trying to link some real life happenings within the fictional nature of this plot. While this was done very smoothly, I’m sure there are readers out there who do not appreciate such subtext. The climax of the book is something which will cause fans to have differences of opinion in regards to the path taken by the author however to discuss it, would be a huge spoiler. Personally for me it felt right so I don’t think it was a wrong move on the author’s part but again some readers might beg to differ.
CONCLUSION: If you like thrillers with action, terrific plots and great characters then The Detachment is the book for you. Even if you are a newbie reader who’s a bit hesitant to start out with this book, don’t be worried as the author gives enough of the back story about the characters for all newcomers to understand their complex psyche and enjoy the book at the same time. The Detachment managed to give me a terrific thrill ride while at the same time overcoming my anticipation for the book. In this regards you can’t ask for more from any author. Give it a try if you find yourself bored reading the same thrillers over and over again.

Order The Lost Coast HERE
Read an excerpt HERE
The Lost Coast is a short story focusing on Daniel Larison and is set between the events on Inside Out and The Detachment. The narrative is in the third person view however gives a clear view into Larison’s mind which is a dark and disturbing place and holds the reader captivated at the same time. This is a rather small short story of about 6.5K words however has quite a punch to it.
The blurb details a man on the run and when he encounters three men with an agenda, he makes them pay. The man is Larison who is running from the events of Inside Out and with good reason. He however has a secret and when he encounters a certain predatory trio who manage to get themselves on to his radar. Things become quite disturbing.
For readers who want to try out Barry’s writing skills, this is a rather excellent short story. The twist in the end is dark and might make a lot of readers think twice about ever meeting any one like the main character however for readers who encountered him previously, it just goes with his persona. The author has to be commended for writing such a dark character and yet making him seem human at the same time. I very much loved to read about Larison in his introductory appearance and this short story is the icing on the cake for all fans. Give it a read before The Detachment as certain things will be a lot clearer in the story then. Highly recommended for all Eisler fans as well as for lovers of anti-hero tales.

Fantasy Book Critic

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