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Shadowstorm #1
Blades of Winter
In one of the most exciting debuts in years, G. T. Almasi has fused the intricate cat-and-mouse games of a John le Carré novel with the brash style of comic book superheroes to create a kick-ass alternate history that reimagines the Cold War as a clash of spies with biological, chemical, and technological enhancements.
Nineteen-year-old Alix Nico, a self-described “million-dollar murder machine,” is a rising star in ExOps, a covert-action agency that aggressively shields the United States from its three great enemies: the Soviet Union, Greater Germany, and the Nationalist Republic of China. Rather than risk another all-out war, the four superpowers have poured their resources into creating superspies known as Levels.
Alix is one of the hottest young American Levels. That’s no surprise: Her dad was America’s top Level before he was captured and killed eight years ago. But when an impulsive decision explodes—literally—in her face, Alix uncovers a conspiracy that pushes her to her limits and could upset the global balance of power forever.
Nineteen-year-old Alix Nico, a self-described “million-dollar murder machine,” is a rising star in ExOps, a covert-action agency that aggressively shields the United States from its three great enemies: the Soviet Union, Greater Germany, and the Nationalist Republic of China. Rather than risk another all-out war, the four superpowers have poured their resources into creating superspies known as Levels.
Alix is one of the hottest young American Levels. That’s no surprise: Her dad was America’s top Level before he was captured and killed eight years ago. But when an impulsive decision explodes—literally—in her face, Alix uncovers a conspiracy that pushes her to her limits and could upset the global balance of power forever.
356 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
50 people are currently reading
1097 people want to read
About the author
G.T. Almasi
4 books78 followersG. T. Almasi graduated from RISD and moved to Boston to pursue a career as a graphic designer. While he built his design portfolio, he joined a band as the bass player, and wrote and designed the band’s newsletter. Once his career as an art director took off, he continued to supplement his design talents by writing copy for his clients.
As a novelist, his literary influences include Robert Ludlum, Neal Stephenson, and Hunter S. Thompson. He also draws inspiration from John Woo’s movies and Todd Howard’s videogames. Almasi lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with his wife, Natalie, and their lovably stubborn dog, Ella.
As a novelist, his literary influences include Robert Ludlum, Neal Stephenson, and Hunter S. Thompson. He also draws inspiration from John Woo’s movies and Todd Howard’s videogames. Almasi lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with his wife, Natalie, and their lovably stubborn dog, Ella.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
July 20, 2018
Look...this rating and this review break my heart. Mr. Almasi I wanted to like this book...I wanted to love this book. The synopsis and even the cover just shouts "great action read!"
I'm sorry, it's just not. The book gets 2 stars because the idea is great. I really enjoy the "alternate world building". It's got some great touches, some tongue in cheek parts played for humor, some twists on world history that could have made it interesting. All good...even potentially great.
So, why am I so disappointed? Why did I end up skimming a large portion of the book and finally not really caring much even about how it came out?
Well...it's the writing and the protagonist. Or possibly "how the protagonist is written". I was not under the impression this was a YA book.
Is it?
It certainly reads like one. We're told our super heroine, super spy, Mary Lu is a teen...and brother does she act like it. The world is one in which modifications have been made to the people fighting the Shadow War. These people who have been modified are not called cyborgs ( in most cases they aren't specifically cyborgs. The "improvements can be chemical or cybernetic but most are a combination) no they are call....(ready?) "Levels". As in, when you get a new modification you, "level up". Just like a roll playing game, of course except this is real (you know, within the book's reality).
Look, I mean it. I really did want to like this book. I bought the book and moved it to the top of my reading list... and now I'm moving it to my "to be traded pile" which I take to the used book store.
I feel so sorry to come down on the book. Maybe younger readers will like it more. It often reads a bit like fan fiction. It's like a teenager's fantasy of what it would be like to be a "bad-ass heavily modified...well, ass-kicker.
In other books there's attitude and the kind of "wiseassedness" we get from Harry Dresden or that you may actually see in special ops troops who have that streak of initiative but are also disciplined. Here the protagonist has virtually no discipline, the "agency" does things no agency would ever do Sigh.
Again...though I've said it before I'll say again, I'm sorry. I wanted to love this book but I can't. I probably won't follow it up. I can't in good conscious recommend it. If you like it then great and please review it yourself. I'm very happy for you if you like it. But for me...it's just not one I could even get into. Sorry.
I'm sorry, it's just not. The book gets 2 stars because the idea is great. I really enjoy the "alternate world building". It's got some great touches, some tongue in cheek parts played for humor, some twists on world history that could have made it interesting. All good...even potentially great.
So, why am I so disappointed? Why did I end up skimming a large portion of the book and finally not really caring much even about how it came out?
Well...it's the writing and the protagonist. Or possibly "how the protagonist is written". I was not under the impression this was a YA book.
Is it?
It certainly reads like one. We're told our super heroine, super spy, Mary Lu is a teen...and brother does she act like it. The world is one in which modifications have been made to the people fighting the Shadow War. These people who have been modified are not called cyborgs ( in most cases they aren't specifically cyborgs. The "improvements can be chemical or cybernetic but most are a combination) no they are call....(ready?) "Levels". As in, when you get a new modification you, "level up". Just like a roll playing game, of course except this is real (you know, within the book's reality).
Look, I mean it. I really did want to like this book. I bought the book and moved it to the top of my reading list... and now I'm moving it to my "to be traded pile" which I take to the used book store.
I feel so sorry to come down on the book. Maybe younger readers will like it more. It often reads a bit like fan fiction. It's like a teenager's fantasy of what it would be like to be a "bad-ass heavily modified...well, ass-kicker.
In other books there's attitude and the kind of "wiseassedness" we get from Harry Dresden or that you may actually see in special ops troops who have that streak of initiative but are also disciplined. Here the protagonist has virtually no discipline, the "agency" does things no agency would ever do Sigh.
Again...though I've said it before I'll say again, I'm sorry. I wanted to love this book but I can't. I probably won't follow it up. I can't in good conscious recommend it. If you like it then great and please review it yourself. I'm very happy for you if you like it. But for me...it's just not one I could even get into. Sorry.
Read
June 10, 2017Well the "self-described ' million-dollar murder machine' " from the Amazon synopsis is a pretty good hint I should've taken. As is the age and the name of the protagonist. Story is written in first person and, as everyone knows at this point, I tend to view this as kind of risky because that means I'm inside the protagonist's head all the time and if I don't like the protagonist it'll put off off the entire story for me. (As opposed to third person where I don't have to know the person's every intimate thought, because there are just some things I don't need to know.) (I mean I love THE HITCHHIKER'S series but I'd probably hate it if it's written in first person, no matter who was the first person). SO: 19 year old bionic girl (yeah she's that modified and the biology isn't all that plausible either-- STAR CORPSMAN is so much better in this regard) is desperate to prove herself and live up to her daddy's name. Protagonist type: Hollywood Strong Woman. Story type: spy / assassin action movie. No seriously: I think this'd be fun to watch as a movie, what with the shooting and explosion, but as a book.... Eh. The writing is more stream of conscious than anything, except with fewer CAPLOCKS and stray punctuation, for which I am grateful.
May 12, 2024
Those who know me, know I don't hand out 5/5 stars, perfect, 100% to many things. I like to reserve that for stuff that really impresses me, has a "wow" factor, etc. I really, really, really enjoyed Blades of Winter: A Novel of the Shadowstorm. I already have Hammer of Angels: A Novel of Shadowstorm on pre-order. I have also recommended the novel to my wife and daughter, and I almost NEVER do that. I did mark up the book with warnings about the violence in the book for them, but I'll get to that in a minute.
The novel is told from the point of view of a 19 year-old female operative in the Shadowstorm conflict. She is an American agent known as Scarlet, real name Alix Nico, and she is pretty awesome. (Warning, she swears like an irritated sailor, though). She is funny, and she is dedicated, and she has some issues.
The novel is set in an alternate history of the world, roughly at the modern day era (beginning of the 21st century), but in a world shaped dramatically differently due to a different outcome to World War 2. The novel is an exciting, gripping ride that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until the last word of the last paragraph on the last page. And wow was that last word something!
The novel is told from the point of view of a 19 year-old female operative in the Shadowstorm conflict. She is an American agent known as Scarlet, real name Alix Nico, and she is pretty awesome. (Warning, she swears like an irritated sailor, though). She is funny, and she is dedicated, and she has some issues.
The novel is set in an alternate history of the world, roughly at the modern day era (beginning of the 21st century), but in a world shaped dramatically differently due to a different outcome to World War 2. The novel is an exciting, gripping ride that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go until the last word of the last paragraph on the last page. And wow was that last word something!
September 22, 2014
Blades of Winter is the first novel in G.T. Alamasi's shadow storm sequence. The story told in first person from Alix Nico aka Scarlet. Scarlet is a low level agent working for ex-ops an American special service that has been secretly at war in a coldwar-esque fashion with three of the worlds super powers. Russia, Germany, and seldom mentioned China. An alternate history hinging on WW2 that felt forced, and over-rationalized by the author. Most good books the world created simply exists.
The plot takes Scarlet on a wild globe trotting ride full of non stop action, accompanied by brutal sequences, and a dash of suspense. Although mostly predictable there were a few WTF moments. We get to meet some disappointing supporting characters. I guess it's a side affect of the books pacing, but we miss out on world description, and character relationships.
Alex Nico was a fun character to read. Blast first ask questions last. Scarlet is mechanically and chemically enhanced to the point where she's basically superhuman. She's wise cracking, tough as hell, and kicks some serious ass. I found her very likable. On the bottom side she has a lame family background, and works for an unbelievable agency, and lives in a forced, in dynamic featureless world.
Overall based on entertainment 4 stars with many inconsistencies dragging it down 3 stars on a good day.
The plot takes Scarlet on a wild globe trotting ride full of non stop action, accompanied by brutal sequences, and a dash of suspense. Although mostly predictable there were a few WTF moments. We get to meet some disappointing supporting characters. I guess it's a side affect of the books pacing, but we miss out on world description, and character relationships.
Alex Nico was a fun character to read. Blast first ask questions last. Scarlet is mechanically and chemically enhanced to the point where she's basically superhuman. She's wise cracking, tough as hell, and kicks some serious ass. I found her very likable. On the bottom side she has a lame family background, and works for an unbelievable agency, and lives in a forced, in dynamic featureless world.
Overall based on entertainment 4 stars with many inconsistencies dragging it down 3 stars on a good day.
September 29, 2012
http://bastardbooks.blogspot.com/2012...
Blades of Winter by G. T. Almasi is the most action-packed novel I've read, to say nothing of its fast pace. It starts at top speed, and doesn't let up until the very end. In fact, after some upgrades, the novel keeps accelerating beyond its limits at an unparalleled frantic pace. Set in an alternate-history universe, Almasi's debut jumps right into the Shadowstorm; the Cold War on steroids.
Alix Nico is an up-and-coming, yet still low level, super agent of ExOps (Extreme Operations Division) who conned her way into an operation way above her pay grade. In what seemed to be a routine surveillance mission, Alix Nico gets thrust into an operation with dire consequences filled with assassination attempts and a hunt for a traitor; an operation linked to a mission in which Alix's father died years ago.
Code named Scarlet, Alix is a petite redhead 19 year-old million dollar killing machine. ExOps is a government backed clandestine division which fights in what is known as the Shadowstorm, which basically is a Cold War involving the four remaining superpowers of the world after WWII: United States, Germany, Russia, and China. To serve their purposes, scientific advancements have enabled these superpowers and their respective secret agencies to create superhuman spies which will be integral to how the Shadowstorm will be played. Alix is one of these superhuman spies, who's undergone modifications totaling over the aforementioned million dollars. Not quite The Six Million Dollar Man , but close.
Alix is also the narrator of the novel from the first person perspective. She's one sassy character, very much an acquired taste, and a bit of a tomboy which really comes through the voice of her narration. I don't think there'll be much middle ground with her. Either you'll like her or hate her as a character because she's a bit of a brat. Still I found Alix quite amusing, particularly with her outlook on life and the fact that she's very much self-aware of what she is, which is part of her charm. I don't know if everyone will see her that way.
Damn right I say. I mean, seriously, how can you not like a character with such wisdom. Precisely what I keep reminding my mom of...except for the "daughter" part. In any case, Alix has an interesting way of viewing the world, and there's plenty of humor to it too. And of course, the action in pure violent bliss.
Blades of Winter features over-the-top violence amid action sequences that will require incredible suspension of disbelief. You can't help, but imagine how this story would look in a fully budgeted film with the combination of high octane fast action with characters interacting with a fusion of both bionic and chemical upgrades, which are further enhanced with advances in Information Technology. With the bluntness and descriptive carnage from Alix, it would surely look awesome in a hard R rated movie with all the bone snapping, entrails pulling, heart squeezing, spinal-cord breaking, brain exploding violence.
I'm usually not a fan of alternate history stories, for some reason my mind keeps telling me "it's all lies!" despite my awareness of it being a fictional story. With that in mind I have to commend the effort here as I very much enjoyed the world building and how Almasi has set-up the wold from WWII and on. Though I would have liked to see a bit more of the more mundane society at work, I liked the integration of social-political issues with diplomatic dilemmas adjusted to events of how WWII unfolded. Jews are enslaved in Germany, United States has conquered Cuba making it a state, while also occupying Japan and dropping the atom bomb on a Chinese army, all which set the stage for the Shadowstorm to develop thus avoiding the superpowers from destroying each other and the world. That said, it felt like for the most part, we're only aware of what happened from the Tropic of Cancer and above. So I kept asking myself, what happened to the rest of the world, given the new world stage and its superpowers?
Which became a bit of a problem for me, in part because the most important catalyst of the plot in this story is directly linked to an oil crisis which forced the US to take measures against Germany (who controlled much of the Middle-East, and thus strong oil positions). In turn, what about Venezuela? Now that the United States has a strategic position in Cuba, it seems like the next logical step to consider Venezuela's role and how the United States could've used it to its advantage. Maybe it would've been inconsequential, but I thought it should've played some part in it. Then Brazil certainly needed to be considered in some respect. All this seemed important to me particularly with the risk of starting a new full blown war against a superpower which threatened the status quo.
The plot itself was straight-forward and very predictable in some manners, particularly with figuring out who the bad guys were. I guess it wasn't of much consequence since there's really not much time to think on it anyways. The story too is consistent throughout, so much of what you get early on is what you'll get as the story progresses. It took me a bit to get into it, but once I found the rhythm I didn't look back. That said, what you find in the early chapters is representative of what you'll find later on, so do with that information what you will.
The relationships in Blades of Winter were interesting, partly because of their unique interaction with some good banter, and quite refreshing. At the same time, other than with her mother, I felt they were quite superficial so as events go along and bad shit happens the impact is not pronounced. Also, for all the death and violence, Almasi seemed a bit reluctant to do some real damage to our heroes. It remains to be seen if this will continue, particularly in light of the ending it had. Also seemed like every time Alix got messed up, it was just an excuse to give her some more upgrades and mods. Speaking of it, was a bit disappointed with the agency she's working in. Alix keeps messing up in some areas, yet there's no real ramification for her actions. In fact, she seems to get rewarded for her screw-ups be it by upgrades or promotions, and that just can't continue being in my opinion.
The Blades of Winter novel couldn't have come out at a better time, right after the London 2012 Olympics. I say this because Alix Nico used to be an Olympic gymnast prodigy. The year is 1980, and we get introduced to a younger pre-teen Alix in a newspaper article from 1972 as she dominated in Madison Square Garden in her age category, alluding to possibility of her winning gold in the next Olympics. All this to say that for some reason, for the rest of the novel, every time I thought of Alix Nico I kept visualizing a bad-ass weaponized gymnastic's legend, gold medalist Olga Korbut with a worse attitude and blowing shit up.
Blades of Winter begins a series that promises to deliver non-stop action that will without a doubt satisfy action enthusiast. There's plenty of room for Almasi to improve, but as it stands it's a series I'll surely continue reading whenever I get the itch for this particular type of story because I know what I'll be getting out of it: excitement, humor, and over the top violence.
Blades of Winter by G. T. Almasi is the most action-packed novel I've read, to say nothing of its fast pace. It starts at top speed, and doesn't let up until the very end. In fact, after some upgrades, the novel keeps accelerating beyond its limits at an unparalleled frantic pace. Set in an alternate-history universe, Almasi's debut jumps right into the Shadowstorm; the Cold War on steroids.
Alix Nico is an up-and-coming, yet still low level, super agent of ExOps (Extreme Operations Division) who conned her way into an operation way above her pay grade. In what seemed to be a routine surveillance mission, Alix Nico gets thrust into an operation with dire consequences filled with assassination attempts and a hunt for a traitor; an operation linked to a mission in which Alix's father died years ago.
Code named Scarlet, Alix is a petite redhead 19 year-old million dollar killing machine. ExOps is a government backed clandestine division which fights in what is known as the Shadowstorm, which basically is a Cold War involving the four remaining superpowers of the world after WWII: United States, Germany, Russia, and China. To serve their purposes, scientific advancements have enabled these superpowers and their respective secret agencies to create superhuman spies which will be integral to how the Shadowstorm will be played. Alix is one of these superhuman spies, who's undergone modifications totaling over the aforementioned million dollars. Not quite The Six Million Dollar Man , but close.
Alix is also the narrator of the novel from the first person perspective. She's one sassy character, very much an acquired taste, and a bit of a tomboy which really comes through the voice of her narration. I don't think there'll be much middle ground with her. Either you'll like her or hate her as a character because she's a bit of a brat. Still I found Alix quite amusing, particularly with her outlook on life and the fact that she's very much self-aware of what she is, which is part of her charm. I don't know if everyone will see her that way.
"I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my mother, but I do
know she has the best daughter in the whole fucking
world."
Damn right I say. I mean, seriously, how can you not like a character with such wisdom. Precisely what I keep reminding my mom of...except for the "daughter" part. In any case, Alix has an interesting way of viewing the world, and there's plenty of humor to it too. And of course, the action in pure violent bliss.
Blades of Winter features over-the-top violence amid action sequences that will require incredible suspension of disbelief. You can't help, but imagine how this story would look in a fully budgeted film with the combination of high octane fast action with characters interacting with a fusion of both bionic and chemical upgrades, which are further enhanced with advances in Information Technology. With the bluntness and descriptive carnage from Alix, it would surely look awesome in a hard R rated movie with all the bone snapping, entrails pulling, heart squeezing, spinal-cord breaking, brain exploding violence.
I'm usually not a fan of alternate history stories, for some reason my mind keeps telling me "it's all lies!" despite my awareness of it being a fictional story. With that in mind I have to commend the effort here as I very much enjoyed the world building and how Almasi has set-up the wold from WWII and on. Though I would have liked to see a bit more of the more mundane society at work, I liked the integration of social-political issues with diplomatic dilemmas adjusted to events of how WWII unfolded. Jews are enslaved in Germany, United States has conquered Cuba making it a state, while also occupying Japan and dropping the atom bomb on a Chinese army, all which set the stage for the Shadowstorm to develop thus avoiding the superpowers from destroying each other and the world. That said, it felt like for the most part, we're only aware of what happened from the Tropic of Cancer and above. So I kept asking myself, what happened to the rest of the world, given the new world stage and its superpowers?
Which became a bit of a problem for me, in part because the most important catalyst of the plot in this story is directly linked to an oil crisis which forced the US to take measures against Germany (who controlled much of the Middle-East, and thus strong oil positions). In turn, what about Venezuela? Now that the United States has a strategic position in Cuba, it seems like the next logical step to consider Venezuela's role and how the United States could've used it to its advantage. Maybe it would've been inconsequential, but I thought it should've played some part in it. Then Brazil certainly needed to be considered in some respect. All this seemed important to me particularly with the risk of starting a new full blown war against a superpower which threatened the status quo.
The plot itself was straight-forward and very predictable in some manners, particularly with figuring out who the bad guys were. I guess it wasn't of much consequence since there's really not much time to think on it anyways. The story too is consistent throughout, so much of what you get early on is what you'll get as the story progresses. It took me a bit to get into it, but once I found the rhythm I didn't look back. That said, what you find in the early chapters is representative of what you'll find later on, so do with that information what you will.
The relationships in Blades of Winter were interesting, partly because of their unique interaction with some good banter, and quite refreshing. At the same time, other than with her mother, I felt they were quite superficial so as events go along and bad shit happens the impact is not pronounced. Also, for all the death and violence, Almasi seemed a bit reluctant to do some real damage to our heroes. It remains to be seen if this will continue, particularly in light of the ending it had. Also seemed like every time Alix got messed up, it was just an excuse to give her some more upgrades and mods. Speaking of it, was a bit disappointed with the agency she's working in. Alix keeps messing up in some areas, yet there's no real ramification for her actions. In fact, she seems to get rewarded for her screw-ups be it by upgrades or promotions, and that just can't continue being in my opinion.
The Blades of Winter novel couldn't have come out at a better time, right after the London 2012 Olympics. I say this because Alix Nico used to be an Olympic gymnast prodigy. The year is 1980, and we get introduced to a younger pre-teen Alix in a newspaper article from 1972 as she dominated in Madison Square Garden in her age category, alluding to possibility of her winning gold in the next Olympics. All this to say that for some reason, for the rest of the novel, every time I thought of Alix Nico I kept visualizing a bad-ass weaponized gymnastic's legend, gold medalist Olga Korbut with a worse attitude and blowing shit up.
Blades of Winter begins a series that promises to deliver non-stop action that will without a doubt satisfy action enthusiast. There's plenty of room for Almasi to improve, but as it stands it's a series I'll surely continue reading whenever I get the itch for this particular type of story because I know what I'll be getting out of it: excitement, humor, and over the top violence.
August 14, 2012
Full Review Originally on Fantasy Book Critic
ANALYSIS: I’m a sucker for Alternate historical tales, be it Joseph R. Lewis’s Other Earth series, Robert Harris’s classic Fatherland or the more recent Land Of Hope And Glory by Geoff Wilson. It’s something about this genre wherein authors re-imagine a world from a historical standpoint that draws the mind and of course many readers love this to death. I was intrigued by this book when I came across it a couple of months ago and I included it in my list of SFF debuts to keep an eye out for.
The story is set in 1980 of the world wherein a new cold war has occured; it of course has the two main countries from our timeline namely the USA and the USSR. In addition to these behemoths are the two behemoths to emerge from World War II which are the Greater Germany and Chiang Kai-Shek inspired Nationalist Republic of China. These four nations are on face at peace with each other however on a covert level strived to wipe each other out. This covert warfare situation has been dubbed “Shadowstorm” and is carried out by agents known as “Levels” who have been given bio-medical upgrades thereby making them more than just humans. These Levels are of six types namely Infiltrator, Protector, Interceptor, Vindicator, Malefactor & Liberator.
The story opens up with nineteen year-old Alixandra J. Nico who is a level 4 Interceptor and was not supposed to be on a job which is levels above her current position however a clerical error assigned her the job and she gets on with it. The task entails tailing a former Russian Level however all hell breaks loose when Alix is fired upon by the Russian agent’s comrade and soon enough things boil down to a bloodbath. This horrible mix up is then rectified as Alix gets a dressing down from her superiors about her disastrous mission, things however aren’t finished as she learns that there was much more to that incident than just a mix-up and things have a way of being connected to her past namely her missing dad.
The story then just explodes from that point into this hyper-fast, action-packed twisted express that will compel the reader to keep turning the pages and keep them glued to the events occurring in the plot. This book surprised me on a lot of fronts and I was impressed with G.T. Almasi’s efforts in his debut. Firstly the pace of the book is almost impossible to convey verbally, from the very first line of the book, the reader is immersed into a world akin to the matrix movies wherein any mayhem and action that occurs, is supercool and cinematic. The action sequences in this book are of a similar kind and are explained in a very believable way thereby enabling the reader to visualize them precisely. The action and pace of the story is highly reminiscent of Matthew Reilly’s books and this is a plus for those seeking a fast fun-filled read.
Secondly the world building, in this case the author has tried out a different tactic seen in various fantasy titles of attaching various briefs or codas to the end of each chapter that expound about the world, its past history, protagonist information as well as the background about the main mystery in the book. This serves a nice purpose of avoiding info dumping directly in the story and adds an extra layer of suspense to each chapter ending as we get information in a very disorganized manner and it’s up to the reader to collate it in their minds and connect the dots to gain a deeper understanding of the global crisis unfolding. The world introduced in this book is one which is another story in itself and its surface is barely scratched in this opening tale. The author has done his best to provide readers with a background so they can understand much of what’s happening. I as a reader would have preferred a map to go along with the story as it would have shown visually the global division of the four superpowers. There’s also a semi-official timeline which can help acclimatize the readers with the background of the world and how it has come to be the way it is presented.
Lastly the characterization is focused mainly upon the protagonist which is Alix and we get a deep look into behavior and her thoughts, we do also get a partial look at Patrick, Alix’s field partner however the focus is squarely upon Alix and her antics. This can be a dual edged sword as when the protagonist gels within the reader’s minds especially in a first person narrative then the writer’s job is half done. For me I was definitely intrigued by Alix and her wild side however her character came across as a bit sociopathic and impulsive, and at times just a bit reckless with so much power. While such character dissection might be dependent on the reader’s tastes, one thing is sure, it makes for a gruesome and exciting read, even though there’s always a slim chance that it might put off some readers.
There are some not-so-rosy spots to this story as well, namely the action-oriented approach robs the story of developing its characters beyond its fun approach. The main character is a fun one to read about but the author doesn’t quite portray the effects of her work on her psyche entirely. Secondly the reasons given for the advancement of science and technology are a little flimsy. It’s said that scientists discovered all these wonderful aspects but no concrete reasoning is provided but this can be easily overlooked as most SF stories need suspension of disbelief from the readers.
CONCLUSION: Blades of Winter is a hyper-fast, action-loaded, tech thriller spy story that is sure to find its fans. Debutante G.T. Almasi has decided to give readers something different and it works with some suspension of disbelief. I was very much intrigued by the world and characters showcased and I can’t wait to read the sequel “Hammer Of Angels” when it releases next year. Blades Of Winter is an exciting debut be sure to check it out if you want to read a cross between Anthony Horowitz and Matthew Reilly.
February 21, 2024
More of a YA than a straight SciFi effort. Really interesting weapons and technical concepts. The alternate history was also an interesting twist. Plenty of action and our heroine kicks butt. Many areas where improvements are needed to the character and the environment. Still lots of Saturday movie matinee rock 'em, sock 'em that goes well with buttered popcorn and soda pop. 3 Stars
September 8, 2012
The one hook in this premise that pulled me through the story was Almasi's take on an alternate 20th century, in which Hitler rolled his armies out West into Britain, rather than East into Russia. After dangling this idea early on in the story, Almasi drops tidbits of history and news that flesh out the new landscape. These pieces appear in the form of pseudo-internal documents and press releases that cap the end of about every other chapter or so.
Which brings me to my main criticism of this book: the story never gets a chance to pick up the steam that palpably spits in the background and practically begs for an unencumbered stretch of pages to break loose and kick ass. On more than one occasion, Almasi follows up a major, action-packed scene with another info dump (bad as I feel levying this charge, the phrase captures Almasi's approach best) and then a few info-gathering scenes in one safe-house or another. While the intention to craft a cloak-and-dagger setting is here, the execution is watered down with too much prose.
In the 24 hours that have passed since I finished this book, I have gone back-and-forth on the sequel question. To read or not to read? I see the chance for Almasi to establish his setting and unleash his super spies, so for now, my answer is a lukewarm maybe.
Which brings me to my main criticism of this book: the story never gets a chance to pick up the steam that palpably spits in the background and practically begs for an unencumbered stretch of pages to break loose and kick ass. On more than one occasion, Almasi follows up a major, action-packed scene with another info dump (bad as I feel levying this charge, the phrase captures Almasi's approach best) and then a few info-gathering scenes in one safe-house or another. While the intention to craft a cloak-and-dagger setting is here, the execution is watered down with too much prose.
In the 24 hours that have passed since I finished this book, I have gone back-and-forth on the sequel question. To read or not to read? I see the chance for Almasi to establish his setting and unleash his super spies, so for now, my answer is a lukewarm maybe.
October 10, 2012
WHOA!!!
Only about 100 pages in so far but this book is like the Charles Bronson of science fiction novels. I swear this book has a sweetass mustache carved from Herodian stone and drives a Trans Am.
UPDATE: done! This book is so badass it backhands Chuck Norris.
The alternate history was a bit uninteresting in my opinion but the rest was more than enough to make up for it. My only concerns as far as geopolitics is concerned are the present and the near-future... Re-imagining an alternate history doesn't interest me at all.
Almasi- do something interesting with this and prove my negativity unfounded. So far, it has been no more than a device to conveniently explain something and move the plot along.
Only about 100 pages in so far but this book is like the Charles Bronson of science fiction novels. I swear this book has a sweetass mustache carved from Herodian stone and drives a Trans Am.
UPDATE: done! This book is so badass it backhands Chuck Norris.
The alternate history was a bit uninteresting in my opinion but the rest was more than enough to make up for it. My only concerns as far as geopolitics is concerned are the present and the near-future... Re-imagining an alternate history doesn't interest me at all.
Almasi- do something interesting with this and prove my negativity unfounded. So far, it has been no more than a device to conveniently explain something and move the plot along.
May 31, 2012
Read the advanced-release - and loved it! Alix Nico is my kinda girl: sassy, stubborn and ass-kicking! This was a fun, fast read with great characters I was happy to tag along with on their globetrotting exploits. I'm looking forward to the sequel already!
September 1, 2012
You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/09/...
Alix Nico is only 19. This doesn’t keep her from an abundance of ass kicking, covert ops, black ops, and um, killing. Alix is an operative with ExOps, and her enhancements make her a pretty badass asset. It’s 1980, and Blades of Winter’s world is definitely a little to the left of ours, in terms of history. The Middle East and France are controlled by Germany and the Blades are determined to remove German control from their rightful territories. Shadowstorm has thus far been a pretty discreet battle between the Big Four (Germany, US, Russia, and China), but it’s about to come to a head.
Blades of Winter starts off with a bang, literally, when Alex takes a Job Number meant for a much higher, more experienced Level, and nearly gets killed in the process. She’s not what you call subtle, and successfully succeeds in angering the powers that be. She’s good, though, really good, and they need her. Turns out they’ve reopened the investigation into the disappearance and alleged termination of her father (Big Bertha), and it would take death to keep Alix away from this mission. So, armed with her trusty Lion Ballistics LB-505 (Li’l Bertha) that she inherited from her dad, Alix saddles up with her partner and lover, Patrick, and they head off to battle. And what a battle!! This mission is a globe hopping, blood soaked descent into hell, not only for Alix, but for her handlers. To say she’s a handful is a vast understatement. Capturing an enemy alive for questioning is terribly hard for Alix, since she tends to kill nearly every enemy she comes in contact with. Heavily augmented, she loves to use her bionic hand to actually reach into people and do damage. One memorable scene involves Alix, the enemy (his collarbones), a parachute, and the Eiffel Tower. That’s not the only memorable scene though. Alix is a tough-as-nails, borderline sociopathic, hot-headed, impulsive, somewhat emotionally immature killing machine.
She’s also a killing machine that terribly misses her father.
You must keep in mind that Alix began her covert ops training when she was only 12, and has never really been allowed to have any semblance of a normal childhood. The psychological aspects of this are staggering, and the author does a very good job of creating a portrait of a young woman whose emotional development has been effectively cut off at the knees. Corralling Alix sort of brings to mind trying to corral a room full of feral cats and while her impetuousness can be trying at times, there’s a hurting little girl inside of her that does come to the surface, especially when she’s with her mother, and these scenes did quite a bit to soften her character. She’s also desperately in love with her partner, Patrick, and poor guy, he has the patience of a saint when it comes to Alix, and he loves her too, no doubt about it. I’d say Alix could benefit from a hug (or 50), but I’d be afraid she’d rip my lungs out. Just sayin’.
The action is nonstop, adrenaline soaked, blood drenched and cinematic, and the fight scenes are some of the best I’ve ever read. Add to the mix a diabolical human cloning program code named Carbon, a possible mole (or moles) in ExOps, and of course, the investigation into what really happen to Alix’s father, and you’ve got an explosive first novel you won’t soon forget. Blades of Winter is complex and exciting, and the shocker of an ending will have you wishing that the sequel was at hand. I can’t wait for the next book in this series!
Alix Nico is only 19. This doesn’t keep her from an abundance of ass kicking, covert ops, black ops, and um, killing. Alix is an operative with ExOps, and her enhancements make her a pretty badass asset. It’s 1980, and Blades of Winter’s world is definitely a little to the left of ours, in terms of history. The Middle East and France are controlled by Germany and the Blades are determined to remove German control from their rightful territories. Shadowstorm has thus far been a pretty discreet battle between the Big Four (Germany, US, Russia, and China), but it’s about to come to a head.
Blades of Winter starts off with a bang, literally, when Alex takes a Job Number meant for a much higher, more experienced Level, and nearly gets killed in the process. She’s not what you call subtle, and successfully succeeds in angering the powers that be. She’s good, though, really good, and they need her. Turns out they’ve reopened the investigation into the disappearance and alleged termination of her father (Big Bertha), and it would take death to keep Alix away from this mission. So, armed with her trusty Lion Ballistics LB-505 (Li’l Bertha) that she inherited from her dad, Alix saddles up with her partner and lover, Patrick, and they head off to battle. And what a battle!! This mission is a globe hopping, blood soaked descent into hell, not only for Alix, but for her handlers. To say she’s a handful is a vast understatement. Capturing an enemy alive for questioning is terribly hard for Alix, since she tends to kill nearly every enemy she comes in contact with. Heavily augmented, she loves to use her bionic hand to actually reach into people and do damage. One memorable scene involves Alix, the enemy (his collarbones), a parachute, and the Eiffel Tower. That’s not the only memorable scene though. Alix is a tough-as-nails, borderline sociopathic, hot-headed, impulsive, somewhat emotionally immature killing machine.
She’s also a killing machine that terribly misses her father.
You must keep in mind that Alix began her covert ops training when she was only 12, and has never really been allowed to have any semblance of a normal childhood. The psychological aspects of this are staggering, and the author does a very good job of creating a portrait of a young woman whose emotional development has been effectively cut off at the knees. Corralling Alix sort of brings to mind trying to corral a room full of feral cats and while her impetuousness can be trying at times, there’s a hurting little girl inside of her that does come to the surface, especially when she’s with her mother, and these scenes did quite a bit to soften her character. She’s also desperately in love with her partner, Patrick, and poor guy, he has the patience of a saint when it comes to Alix, and he loves her too, no doubt about it. I’d say Alix could benefit from a hug (or 50), but I’d be afraid she’d rip my lungs out. Just sayin’.
The action is nonstop, adrenaline soaked, blood drenched and cinematic, and the fight scenes are some of the best I’ve ever read. Add to the mix a diabolical human cloning program code named Carbon, a possible mole (or moles) in ExOps, and of course, the investigation into what really happen to Alix’s father, and you’ve got an explosive first novel you won’t soon forget. Blades of Winter is complex and exciting, and the shocker of an ending will have you wishing that the sequel was at hand. I can’t wait for the next book in this series!
October 21, 2012
Blades of Winter caught my attention from the very first paragraph. It is exciting with a very different alternate history. It did drag a little about 3/4 of the way through but quickly picked back up. Here are some of the elements that really caught my attention.
Worldbuilding: This is where Blades of Winter really stands out. The alternate history could have happened. How is this world different? Germany conquered England and went on to conquer most of Europe before the US had a chance to get in that part of the war. Hitler was killed before he had a chance to invade Russia. The US conquered Japan and has a hold in the Far East. Russia and Germany divided the Middle East. The Jews were not killed but are slaves in Germany. The US invaded Cuba after Castro and made it a state. China is not a Communist country but is the fourth world power. So four world powers who do not like or trust each other. Some of the people in power are familiar and some we know do not even show up.
Technology: With Germany the victor in a much shorter war they continue to lead in the development of new technology. Much of it is technology that changes the human body. The agents of each country are enhanced in ways that make them the equal of super heroes. There are other developments that parallel our history but they come about much sooner.
Plot: This one twists and turns on itself. What starts as a simple sit and watch changes into something much more important. Alix Nico is the center of much of the action and she finds information that changes the game of everyone.
Characters: This is an action driven not a character driven book. There is some character development but most is revealed by the actions required by the plot.
Tension: There is that in spades. Alix jumps from one dangerous situation to another. There are names without faces, double agents, and forged documents that drive the action.
Blades of Winter ends with a bit of a cliff hanger. One problem is solved but another must wait. All the action in Blades of Winter have caused tensions to built up between the powers and everything must have time to cool down before that problem is addressed.
Blades of Winter is a exciting first novel and book two is already in the pipeline. The series had great possibilities and I am looking forward to Hammer of Angels, book two.
Worldbuilding: This is where Blades of Winter really stands out. The alternate history could have happened. How is this world different? Germany conquered England and went on to conquer most of Europe before the US had a chance to get in that part of the war. Hitler was killed before he had a chance to invade Russia. The US conquered Japan and has a hold in the Far East. Russia and Germany divided the Middle East. The Jews were not killed but are slaves in Germany. The US invaded Cuba after Castro and made it a state. China is not a Communist country but is the fourth world power. So four world powers who do not like or trust each other. Some of the people in power are familiar and some we know do not even show up.
Technology: With Germany the victor in a much shorter war they continue to lead in the development of new technology. Much of it is technology that changes the human body. The agents of each country are enhanced in ways that make them the equal of super heroes. There are other developments that parallel our history but they come about much sooner.
Plot: This one twists and turns on itself. What starts as a simple sit and watch changes into something much more important. Alix Nico is the center of much of the action and she finds information that changes the game of everyone.
Characters: This is an action driven not a character driven book. There is some character development but most is revealed by the actions required by the plot.
Tension: There is that in spades. Alix jumps from one dangerous situation to another. There are names without faces, double agents, and forged documents that drive the action.
Blades of Winter ends with a bit of a cliff hanger. One problem is solved but another must wait. All the action in Blades of Winter have caused tensions to built up between the powers and everything must have time to cool down before that problem is addressed.
Blades of Winter is a exciting first novel and book two is already in the pipeline. The series had great possibilities and I am looking forward to Hammer of Angels, book two.
August 26, 2012
Full review at Talk Supe
MOTHAFUCKIN' A!
Pardon my French but that was my overall reaction to G.T. Almasi's debut novel, BLADES OF WINTER. I have never read anything like this! I don't even know how I'll classify it, all I know is that if Almasi intends to pay homage to John le Carré and Stan Lee, he did a stellar job of doing so, both the British author and Marvel Godfather will be proud of his first endeavor to continue the legacy of ass-kicking, super human heroes with heart pounding, science fiction stories glazed with espionage and lots and lots of big guns and heavy ammunition.
If you're into high action/adventure books with a witty, cunning and deadly heroines, BLADES OF WINTER is THE book for you. G.T. Almasi can't write a stronger book than this, it's sharper and more lethal than Adamantium claws. Read the excerpt if you need more convincing.
MOTHAFUCKIN' A!
Pardon my French but that was my overall reaction to G.T. Almasi's debut novel, BLADES OF WINTER. I have never read anything like this! I don't even know how I'll classify it, all I know is that if Almasi intends to pay homage to John le Carré and Stan Lee, he did a stellar job of doing so, both the British author and Marvel Godfather will be proud of his first endeavor to continue the legacy of ass-kicking, super human heroes with heart pounding, science fiction stories glazed with espionage and lots and lots of big guns and heavy ammunition.
If you're into high action/adventure books with a witty, cunning and deadly heroines, BLADES OF WINTER is THE book for you. G.T. Almasi can't write a stronger book than this, it's sharper and more lethal than Adamantium claws. Read the excerpt if you need more convincing.
August 31, 2012
4.5 stars. So good. Review tk.
And here it is!
http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/...
And here it is!
http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/...
September 17, 2016
Oh dear. This is quite possibly the worst book I've ever read. Okay, it's probably not the worst—I've read so many books that I'm sure there are some other stinkers in there—but it was pretty bad.
Let me set the stage for you. (Minor spoilers in this paragraph and the next if you're super spoiler-sensitive, but nothing that truly gives away the plot. All actual spoilers are marked with the spoiler tag.) It's 1980, in an alternate version of America. World War II took place, but the Nazis overran Britain, then Hitler's generals assassinated him in 1942 prior to Operation Barbarossa (Barbarossa took place in 1941 in real life, but it's 1942 in this book). The Nazi movement kind of, sort of fell apart after Hitler's demise, so the US stopped fighting Germany and instead focused all its efforts on Japan. It won the war against the Japanese without the use of an atomic bomb and then helped Chiang Kai-shek's forces win against the Communists in China (I'm still a bit unclear how exactly this happened, but we'll go with it). At the time of the story, there are four great powers, known rather uncreatively as the Big Four: the US, Russia/Soviet Union (the author sort of uses these interchangeably, so I'm not 100% if the Soviets are Communist or not in this world), China, and Greater Germany. That's right: Germany exists, but it's a grotesque empire that has seized massive territory (virtually all of Western Europe, including Switzerland (!), as well as much of the Middle East and some parts of Asia) and has enslaved all the Jews within its borders.
Basically, this is a bit of a Cold War situation, but with four participants instead of two. So what do these great powers do instead of go to war openly? That’s right, they rely on biomechanically modified humans to spy on each other. The spy part is expected, but all the biomedical engineering technology was a bit of a surprise. Seriously, that was my biggest gripe with the book initially: a lot of the alternate history stuff is plausible (in this amateur historian’s opinion), but I’m not sure if all the modifications that these super-spies receive would have been possible back in 1980. Let’s put it this way: they’re definitely not possible now (if they were, I’d be first in line to sign up for the vision enhancements they get), so I’m not sure why the change in what happened during and subsequent to WWII necessarily leads to all this advanced technology.
Anyway, enough about the world building, let’s move on to the characters. I could have gone along with everything I wrote in the prior paragraphs, I really could have, if only I’d liked the characters. Alas, that was not to be. Most of them were, to put it bluntly, very odious people. Let me describe some of them. Spoilers definitely to follow, but I’ve marked them with the spoiler tag.
- Alix, the main character: badass super-spy…
- Patrick, Alix’s sidekick: I didn’t hate him as much as Alix. He’s actually funny at times.
- Alix’s father:
- Cleo, Alix’s mom: I actually liked her. She was a bit of a minor character
Anyway, the gist of the book is this:
Also, with odd turns of the phrase such as "Fatigue creeps up on me like a ninja kitten" and someone's annoyed expression being compared to "ebony lightning" (what does that even mean?!?), I promise you'll do yourself a favor by skipping this book.
Let me set the stage for you. (Minor spoilers in this paragraph and the next if you're super spoiler-sensitive, but nothing that truly gives away the plot. All actual spoilers are marked with the spoiler tag.) It's 1980, in an alternate version of America. World War II took place, but the Nazis overran Britain, then Hitler's generals assassinated him in 1942 prior to Operation Barbarossa (Barbarossa took place in 1941 in real life, but it's 1942 in this book). The Nazi movement kind of, sort of fell apart after Hitler's demise, so the US stopped fighting Germany and instead focused all its efforts on Japan. It won the war against the Japanese without the use of an atomic bomb and then helped Chiang Kai-shek's forces win against the Communists in China (I'm still a bit unclear how exactly this happened, but we'll go with it). At the time of the story, there are four great powers, known rather uncreatively as the Big Four: the US, Russia/Soviet Union (the author sort of uses these interchangeably, so I'm not 100% if the Soviets are Communist or not in this world), China, and Greater Germany. That's right: Germany exists, but it's a grotesque empire that has seized massive territory (virtually all of Western Europe, including Switzerland (!), as well as much of the Middle East and some parts of Asia) and has enslaved all the Jews within its borders.
Basically, this is a bit of a Cold War situation, but with four participants instead of two. So what do these great powers do instead of go to war openly? That’s right, they rely on biomechanically modified humans to spy on each other. The spy part is expected, but all the biomedical engineering technology was a bit of a surprise. Seriously, that was my biggest gripe with the book initially: a lot of the alternate history stuff is plausible (in this amateur historian’s opinion), but I’m not sure if all the modifications that these super-spies receive would have been possible back in 1980. Let’s put it this way: they’re definitely not possible now (if they were, I’d be first in line to sign up for the vision enhancements they get), so I’m not sure why the change in what happened during and subsequent to WWII necessarily leads to all this advanced technology.
Anyway, enough about the world building, let’s move on to the characters. I could have gone along with everything I wrote in the prior paragraphs, I really could have, if only I’d liked the characters. Alas, that was not to be. Most of them were, to put it bluntly, very odious people. Let me describe some of them. Spoilers definitely to follow, but I’ve marked them with the spoiler tag.
- Alix, the main character: badass super-spy…
- Patrick, Alix’s sidekick: I didn’t hate him as much as Alix. He’s actually funny at times.
- Alix’s father:
- Cleo, Alix’s mom: I actually liked her. She was a bit of a minor character
Anyway, the gist of the book is this:
Also, with odd turns of the phrase such as "Fatigue creeps up on me like a ninja kitten" and someone's annoyed expression being compared to "ebony lightning" (what does that even mean?!?), I promise you'll do yourself a favor by skipping this book.
October 3, 2012
This is a highly enjoyable, action packed book that reads extremely quickly with a relentless pace and a not to complicated plot. Our protagonist is Alix a 19 year old spy who is like the female Jack Bauer on acid, spy is perhaps the wrong word as where ever she goes she leaves a path of devastation, destruction and a body count resembling a basketball score board.
The world building is good set around 30 years ago, yet with technology from far in the future. The world is run by the superpowers USA, Russia, China & Germany. These four nations are supposedly at peace with each other however on a covert level they strive to wipe each other out. This covert warfare is known as Shadowstorm and is carried out by agents known as "Levels" who have been given bio-medical/mechanical upgrades and other advancements making them superhuman.
When a much higher level calls in sick, Alix causes a clerical error and gets assigned the job. The task involves tailing a former Russian Level however all hell breaks loose when Alix is fired upon by a Russians protector and soon enough things descend into all out chaos. This horrible mix up is then rectified as Alix gets a dressing down from her superiors about her disastrous mission, things however aren't finished as she learns that there was much more to that incident than just a mix-up and things have a way of being connected to her past namely her missing dad. The investigation is re-opened, heralding the start of a thrilling journey as a plot to sabotage the worlds oil supply is uncovered.
There are many stand out moments in the book but the best has to be Alix in pursuit of a foreign level jumping off the Eiffel Tower without a parachute, catching him, digging her augmented hand into his collarbone and pulling his parachute chord. She is impulsive, emotionally unstable and a borderline psychotic killing machine, but you can't help loving this character to bits.
This is an excellent debut novel and I look forward to the next book in the series.
The world building is good set around 30 years ago, yet with technology from far in the future. The world is run by the superpowers USA, Russia, China & Germany. These four nations are supposedly at peace with each other however on a covert level they strive to wipe each other out. This covert warfare is known as Shadowstorm and is carried out by agents known as "Levels" who have been given bio-medical/mechanical upgrades and other advancements making them superhuman.
When a much higher level calls in sick, Alix causes a clerical error and gets assigned the job. The task involves tailing a former Russian Level however all hell breaks loose when Alix is fired upon by a Russians protector and soon enough things descend into all out chaos. This horrible mix up is then rectified as Alix gets a dressing down from her superiors about her disastrous mission, things however aren't finished as she learns that there was much more to that incident than just a mix-up and things have a way of being connected to her past namely her missing dad. The investigation is re-opened, heralding the start of a thrilling journey as a plot to sabotage the worlds oil supply is uncovered.
There are many stand out moments in the book but the best has to be Alix in pursuit of a foreign level jumping off the Eiffel Tower without a parachute, catching him, digging her augmented hand into his collarbone and pulling his parachute chord. She is impulsive, emotionally unstable and a borderline psychotic killing machine, but you can't help loving this character to bits.
This is an excellent debut novel and I look forward to the next book in the series.
March 19, 2016
*I did not finish this book*
Given the glowing reviews of this book I thought I was in for a great ride. Man, was I disappointed.
Let's start with what I liked in this book. G.T. Almasi does make an effort with his worldbuilding as he rewrites History, including geopolitical elements throughout the book (well, the part that I read obviously). I found that interesting, though a bit too "Clash-of-Civilisations"like for my tastes. Another major element is the technological edge of his world which is very original.
However, the book gets pretty quickly overloaded with technical terms that can be very off-putting.
Another thing is the characterization, it just did not work for me. I shudder to think that the heroine Alix has so much power in her hands and so little brain to go with it.
Seriously, I know she is a teen but being barely out of my teenage years, I cannot relate to her at all. She is far too idiotic.
For example, this:
"She looks fantastic with a cigarette in her hands, and I immediately resolve to take up smocking"
Holy cow ! I can't even comment on that.
And that's the girl who's supposed to uncover a conspiracy and save the world... I mean, okay, I know that most teenagers suffer from a bad case of "I want to feel like a grow-up" but that's so random and out-of-the blue that it actually pulled me straight out of the story.
The other characters felt flat for me, I could not care less about what happened to them.
And the writing... Jeez, the man needs to calm down on metaphors and slang.
To put it in a nutshell, Alix is a s...y narator and I could not get past her maverick, "I don't give a damn attitude", which seriously does come up a bit too often in books. Plus GT Almasi's writing gave me a headache.
I won't be reading any other book in this series. Perhaps I had set my expectations too high, but I really hated this book.
Almasi gets two stars for actually trying to do something original.
Given the glowing reviews of this book I thought I was in for a great ride. Man, was I disappointed.
Let's start with what I liked in this book. G.T. Almasi does make an effort with his worldbuilding as he rewrites History, including geopolitical elements throughout the book (well, the part that I read obviously). I found that interesting, though a bit too "Clash-of-Civilisations"like for my tastes. Another major element is the technological edge of his world which is very original.
However, the book gets pretty quickly overloaded with technical terms that can be very off-putting.
Another thing is the characterization, it just did not work for me. I shudder to think that the heroine Alix has so much power in her hands and so little brain to go with it.
Seriously, I know she is a teen but being barely out of my teenage years, I cannot relate to her at all. She is far too idiotic.
For example, this:
"She looks fantastic with a cigarette in her hands, and I immediately resolve to take up smocking"
Holy cow ! I can't even comment on that.
And that's the girl who's supposed to uncover a conspiracy and save the world... I mean, okay, I know that most teenagers suffer from a bad case of "I want to feel like a grow-up" but that's so random and out-of-the blue that it actually pulled me straight out of the story.
The other characters felt flat for me, I could not care less about what happened to them.
And the writing... Jeez, the man needs to calm down on metaphors and slang.
To put it in a nutshell, Alix is a s...y narator and I could not get past her maverick, "I don't give a damn attitude", which seriously does come up a bit too often in books. Plus GT Almasi's writing gave me a headache.
I won't be reading any other book in this series. Perhaps I had set my expectations too high, but I really hated this book.
Almasi gets two stars for actually trying to do something original.
June 1, 2012
Read an early draft. Nice alternate history, ass-kicking, spy thriller, teenage girl coming of age story.
September 13, 2012
You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:
http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/09/...
Shadowhawk reviews the first novel in the Shadowstorm series by debut author G. T. Almasi, an action-adventure spy thriller novel.
“Take any high-stakes action movie, add in advance cybernetics and spies. Blades of Winter is the awesome result.“ ~The Founding Fields
Its been ages since I’ve read a spy novel, the last I remember reading is Ian Fleming’s Moonraker some twelve years or so ago, a James Bond 007 novel that was also made into a movie starring Roger Moore in the titular role. Since then I haven’t read any more spy novels, although I’ve watched a fair few films. So when I came across Blades of Winter on NetGalley a while back, I was really excited the premise and the setting and the characters. Set in an alternate reality where Germany successfully invades Britain during the Second World War and the world is later divided between Germany, China, Russia and the USA, Almasi has written a novel that has high-octane cinematic action written all over it. The novel could easily have been a disappointment to me, truth be told, but I’m glad that it was anything but.
In Almasi’s alternate reality, the Cold War is all about cybernetically-enhanced super spies fighting a secret (or not so secret depending on how you look at it) global war behind the scenes. I was initially put off by the time-setting of the novel, as I expected to be treated to constant references of how things were in that dreadful era, but Almasi never does that. The details of the overall setting, and how the characters fit into this alternate world are handled delicately enough for my liking and the author eases the reader into it. If I’m honest, I’d have to say that if it were not for the whole Shadowstorm setting, this could have been a pretty typical James Bond novel, those that I consider to be among Fleming’s best that is, such as From Russia With Love, Dr. No, and Casino Royale.
The protagonist of the novel however is no seasoned charming, handsome male agent who can charm the ladies, frustrate the villains and drinks vodka-martinis. Alix Nico is a nineteen-year old girl who was trained since her pre-teen years by the ExOps agency, preceded by her father who was America’s top agent and a man in a class of his own, or Level as ExOps agents are known, when he was alive. Alix curses frequently, is a hot-head who’d give even Bond a run for his money and is entirely proficient in the not-so subtle art of turning living breathing villains into corpses, except in situations where her special customised gun leaves enough of a corpse after its done with them. I was initially put off by her age and her attitude, which I found to be incongruous within the setting. I’ve always seen spy-work as a matter for professionals like Bond, or Salt, or any other popular spies in fiction, not for young adults who are barely even in college! I was reminded of Mark Lawrence’sBroken Empire series protagonist Jorg who is a downright bastard and an utterly immoral teenager (thirteen I think?), a character whose actions and words never struck me as real. But the same is not the case here with Alix. She has an entire support system of her mother, her best friend who is also an ExOps agent, and her mentors within the agency. Seen through their eyes and in shared context with them, her character is brought to life by Almasi and you really connect with her as a character.
The novel is told in the first person, all from Alix’s point of view, and that adds to the level of immersion of the novel. I’ve been reading a lot of novels lately where first person is used and while I was at first hesitant with this, I’ve come to like it. It has its disadvantages of course, in that it enforces a deeper connection to the characters than the reader might be comfortable with (such as with the aforementioned Jorg), and that it doesn’t allow you to truly see the wider picture (Matt Forbeck gets around this in his Brave New World novels by using chapters from multiple character view points) but the fact is that I like that deeper connection.Blades of Winter is one of those few novels where the first person perspective works perfectly since it fits the character and fits the setting and fits the author’s style.
http://thefoundingfields.com/2012/09/...
Shadowhawk reviews the first novel in the Shadowstorm series by debut author G. T. Almasi, an action-adventure spy thriller novel.
“Take any high-stakes action movie, add in advance cybernetics and spies. Blades of Winter is the awesome result.“ ~The Founding Fields
Its been ages since I’ve read a spy novel, the last I remember reading is Ian Fleming’s Moonraker some twelve years or so ago, a James Bond 007 novel that was also made into a movie starring Roger Moore in the titular role. Since then I haven’t read any more spy novels, although I’ve watched a fair few films. So when I came across Blades of Winter on NetGalley a while back, I was really excited the premise and the setting and the characters. Set in an alternate reality where Germany successfully invades Britain during the Second World War and the world is later divided between Germany, China, Russia and the USA, Almasi has written a novel that has high-octane cinematic action written all over it. The novel could easily have been a disappointment to me, truth be told, but I’m glad that it was anything but.
In Almasi’s alternate reality, the Cold War is all about cybernetically-enhanced super spies fighting a secret (or not so secret depending on how you look at it) global war behind the scenes. I was initially put off by the time-setting of the novel, as I expected to be treated to constant references of how things were in that dreadful era, but Almasi never does that. The details of the overall setting, and how the characters fit into this alternate world are handled delicately enough for my liking and the author eases the reader into it. If I’m honest, I’d have to say that if it were not for the whole Shadowstorm setting, this could have been a pretty typical James Bond novel, those that I consider to be among Fleming’s best that is, such as From Russia With Love, Dr. No, and Casino Royale.
The protagonist of the novel however is no seasoned charming, handsome male agent who can charm the ladies, frustrate the villains and drinks vodka-martinis. Alix Nico is a nineteen-year old girl who was trained since her pre-teen years by the ExOps agency, preceded by her father who was America’s top agent and a man in a class of his own, or Level as ExOps agents are known, when he was alive. Alix curses frequently, is a hot-head who’d give even Bond a run for his money and is entirely proficient in the not-so subtle art of turning living breathing villains into corpses, except in situations where her special customised gun leaves enough of a corpse after its done with them. I was initially put off by her age and her attitude, which I found to be incongruous within the setting. I’ve always seen spy-work as a matter for professionals like Bond, or Salt, or any other popular spies in fiction, not for young adults who are barely even in college! I was reminded of Mark Lawrence’sBroken Empire series protagonist Jorg who is a downright bastard and an utterly immoral teenager (thirteen I think?), a character whose actions and words never struck me as real. But the same is not the case here with Alix. She has an entire support system of her mother, her best friend who is also an ExOps agent, and her mentors within the agency. Seen through their eyes and in shared context with them, her character is brought to life by Almasi and you really connect with her as a character.
The novel is told in the first person, all from Alix’s point of view, and that adds to the level of immersion of the novel. I’ve been reading a lot of novels lately where first person is used and while I was at first hesitant with this, I’ve come to like it. It has its disadvantages of course, in that it enforces a deeper connection to the characters than the reader might be comfortable with (such as with the aforementioned Jorg), and that it doesn’t allow you to truly see the wider picture (Matt Forbeck gets around this in his Brave New World novels by using chapters from multiple character view points) but the fact is that I like that deeper connection.Blades of Winter is one of those few novels where the first person perspective works perfectly since it fits the character and fits the setting and fits the author’s style.
October 16, 2014
originally appeared on: Bookshelf Confessions
The cover is perfect. Red hair, black outfit, firing gun… a good depiction of bad-ass fiction..:D.. It was really the cover that got my attention and urge me to request this book.. and I wasn’t disappointed at all..:)
First and foremost, I’d like to say, that this is the very first action-filled novel I’ve read. I mean literally, BLADES OF WINTER is like watching those James Bond and Bourne Legacy movies into words. Cool!!!
For the first chapter, I feel dumped with new terms and information, being a non-sci-fi/action fan, I almost thought of putting the book down. But the scene in that first chapter was fast-paced and I could understand the fighting scenes even without knowledge of caliber and enhancements, so I decided to proceed. After that, I was engrossed with the story, and understand all the words with my heart. How? Because the book is designed to give past information and even explanations with the new alternate history Almasi created by alternating the current scene and the information, and also gives the readers hint to the mysteries at hand (making me think and anticipate also)—and surprisingly, I did find it easy to follow. Plus, the protagonist Alix Nico, compared to the other levels is quite new. So, I get to experience and explored the world of levels together with her. Written with the protagonist as a nineteen year-old girl, I easily connect to it, and for me, it’s quite rare to find females in lead roles of spy/action/sci-fi novels.
I devoured the book in one sitting, and love all of the characters, whether they’re there from the start or added as the story progresses on. Alix who’s stubborn, impulsive and quite annoying at the beginning totally developed in the story without losing her sassiness. She’s one heroine I would forever be a fan of. Also, in any story, there’ll be casualties, I grief for the loss of those I came to love but would welcome more characters from the sequel.
The plot was great and well-thought of. The story doesn’t just jump from chapter to chapter, but you get to connect each from the other. There are also some twist and turns that I didn’t saw coming. The actions are easy to imagine, explosive and high rated. Almasi is a terrific writer..:D
I just wish that it would be harder next time for Alix to find out and solved the mysteries- like she really have to glue the puzzles together.
With the mass market paperback I have, it would seem that the story would be a short and brief read. But the book was so much more. A new world was created not just for sci-fi/action fans, but for future ones as well. With that cliff-hanger ending, plus a glimpse to the next book, it surely makes me want to hunt for HAMMER OF ANGELS, the next book in the series..right at this moment..:D.
BLADES OF WINTER is fast-paced, action-filled, full of humor, sarcasm, adventure, sassiness, loads of weapons, and unimaginable human enhancements. A thrilling spy novel from debut author G. T. Almasi that you shouldn’t miss!!! Very highly Recommended!!!
The cover is perfect. Red hair, black outfit, firing gun… a good depiction of bad-ass fiction..:D.. It was really the cover that got my attention and urge me to request this book.. and I wasn’t disappointed at all..:)
First and foremost, I’d like to say, that this is the very first action-filled novel I’ve read. I mean literally, BLADES OF WINTER is like watching those James Bond and Bourne Legacy movies into words. Cool!!!
For the first chapter, I feel dumped with new terms and information, being a non-sci-fi/action fan, I almost thought of putting the book down. But the scene in that first chapter was fast-paced and I could understand the fighting scenes even without knowledge of caliber and enhancements, so I decided to proceed. After that, I was engrossed with the story, and understand all the words with my heart. How? Because the book is designed to give past information and even explanations with the new alternate history Almasi created by alternating the current scene and the information, and also gives the readers hint to the mysteries at hand (making me think and anticipate also)—and surprisingly, I did find it easy to follow. Plus, the protagonist Alix Nico, compared to the other levels is quite new. So, I get to experience and explored the world of levels together with her. Written with the protagonist as a nineteen year-old girl, I easily connect to it, and for me, it’s quite rare to find females in lead roles of spy/action/sci-fi novels.
I devoured the book in one sitting, and love all of the characters, whether they’re there from the start or added as the story progresses on. Alix who’s stubborn, impulsive and quite annoying at the beginning totally developed in the story without losing her sassiness. She’s one heroine I would forever be a fan of. Also, in any story, there’ll be casualties, I grief for the loss of those I came to love but would welcome more characters from the sequel.
The plot was great and well-thought of. The story doesn’t just jump from chapter to chapter, but you get to connect each from the other. There are also some twist and turns that I didn’t saw coming. The actions are easy to imagine, explosive and high rated. Almasi is a terrific writer..:D
I just wish that it would be harder next time for Alix to find out and solved the mysteries- like she really have to glue the puzzles together.
With the mass market paperback I have, it would seem that the story would be a short and brief read. But the book was so much more. A new world was created not just for sci-fi/action fans, but for future ones as well. With that cliff-hanger ending, plus a glimpse to the next book, it surely makes me want to hunt for HAMMER OF ANGELS, the next book in the series..right at this moment..:D.
BLADES OF WINTER is fast-paced, action-filled, full of humor, sarcasm, adventure, sassiness, loads of weapons, and unimaginable human enhancements. A thrilling spy novel from debut author G. T. Almasi that you shouldn’t miss!!! Very highly Recommended!!!
September 30, 2012
*Genre* Science Fiction, Suspense, Alternative History
*Rating* 4.0-4.5
*Review*
Blades of Winter has to be one of the best alternative reality, action-suspense novels that I have read in a very long time. G. T. Almasi takes a page straight out of Robert Ludlum’s hand book and instills a bit of humor and romance to go along it. He provides us with a heroine that is as snarky as she is bad-ass in 20 year old Alixandra Nico.
In Almasi’s world, it is the year 1980 and the president is Ronald Reagan. The United States, Russia, the Nationalist Republic of China, and Greater Germany emerged from World War II as the main superpowers. They aggressively seek to one up the other nations by producing super spies with modifications that Almasi calls Levels. Germany controls much of Europe and the Middle East from the Polar Capes to the African peninsula, while the US maintains hold on its own territories including Japan and Cuba.
In the synopsis I’ve read, it states that Alix is 19 years old. That’s not exactly true since she turns 20 after a certain mission of destruction and mayhem which lands her in the hospital. Alix, code name Scarlet, spends a lot of time destroying things, and getting into troubling situations which leads to continued conflicts among her peers and her partner Patrick. That is alright with me because she ends up finding different ways of surviving even at the expense of her enhancements and modifications which come from being a Level on the way up.
Alix’s father Philip (Big Bertha) was a legend within the Extreme Operations (ExOps) until his disappearance when Alix was 12 years old. It led to the belief that he was dead. Philip’s apparent reappearance in enemy hands leaves lots of answers and no clear cut solutions to finding him. Alix’s own career as an ExOps agent began shortly after Philip’s original disappearance. She soon excelled to the point of leaving her classmates behind in the dust and going on missions that were way above her pay grade.
Alix reminds me, in a way, of Jason Bourne which is where I got the Robert Ludlum reference from. She chases bad guys all over the world and even jumps off the Eiffel Tower in pursuit of a villain. Alix is fearless to a fault and doesn’t really understand the meaning of bring back prisoners so that her bosses and glean information from them. She has no boundaries when it comes to getting what she needs from a mission, even if the mission wasn’t supposed to be hers in the first place. She’s hopelessly in love with her partner Patrick which leads to some interesting interludes as well as a breathtaking and fast paced chase that will leave readers gasping for air.
In the end, this was an entertaining and quick paced read that I am sure will be carried over in the next installment called Hammer of Angels (March 26, 2013).
Recvd from NetGalley * Published August 28th 2012 by Del Rey
*Rating* 4.0-4.5
*Review*
Blades of Winter has to be one of the best alternative reality, action-suspense novels that I have read in a very long time. G. T. Almasi takes a page straight out of Robert Ludlum’s hand book and instills a bit of humor and romance to go along it. He provides us with a heroine that is as snarky as she is bad-ass in 20 year old Alixandra Nico.
In Almasi’s world, it is the year 1980 and the president is Ronald Reagan. The United States, Russia, the Nationalist Republic of China, and Greater Germany emerged from World War II as the main superpowers. They aggressively seek to one up the other nations by producing super spies with modifications that Almasi calls Levels. Germany controls much of Europe and the Middle East from the Polar Capes to the African peninsula, while the US maintains hold on its own territories including Japan and Cuba.
In the synopsis I’ve read, it states that Alix is 19 years old. That’s not exactly true since she turns 20 after a certain mission of destruction and mayhem which lands her in the hospital. Alix, code name Scarlet, spends a lot of time destroying things, and getting into troubling situations which leads to continued conflicts among her peers and her partner Patrick. That is alright with me because she ends up finding different ways of surviving even at the expense of her enhancements and modifications which come from being a Level on the way up.
Alix’s father Philip (Big Bertha) was a legend within the Extreme Operations (ExOps) until his disappearance when Alix was 12 years old. It led to the belief that he was dead. Philip’s apparent reappearance in enemy hands leaves lots of answers and no clear cut solutions to finding him. Alix’s own career as an ExOps agent began shortly after Philip’s original disappearance. She soon excelled to the point of leaving her classmates behind in the dust and going on missions that were way above her pay grade.
Alix reminds me, in a way, of Jason Bourne which is where I got the Robert Ludlum reference from. She chases bad guys all over the world and even jumps off the Eiffel Tower in pursuit of a villain. Alix is fearless to a fault and doesn’t really understand the meaning of bring back prisoners so that her bosses and glean information from them. She has no boundaries when it comes to getting what she needs from a mission, even if the mission wasn’t supposed to be hers in the first place. She’s hopelessly in love with her partner Patrick which leads to some interesting interludes as well as a breathtaking and fast paced chase that will leave readers gasping for air.
In the end, this was an entertaining and quick paced read that I am sure will be carried over in the next installment called Hammer of Angels (March 26, 2013).
Recvd from NetGalley * Published August 28th 2012 by Del Rey
October 14, 2012
Relentless, Exciting Post-Cyberpunk Alternate History Novel Debut from G. T. Almasi
Relentless, exciting and utterly engrossing in its plot and pacing, “Blades of Winter” is a superb mash-up of the espionage thriller, superhero graphic novel, post-cyberpunk and alternate history science fiction, in what promises to be the first in G. T. Almasi’s “SHADOWSTORM” series of novels. Not only is it a compelling homage to Neal Stephenson’s “Snow Crash” and “Reamde”, but, in many respects, it surpasses “Reamde” merely in its pacing and plot, and in presenting a character, nineteen-year-old Alix Nico, who is among the most compelling female characters in cyberpunk and post-cyperpunk fiction since the likes of William Gibson’s “Molly” in his “Cyberspace” trilogy and similar female protagonists in classic cyberpunk science fiction written by the likes of Pat Cadigan and Michael Swanwick, among others. “Blades of Winter” reads like “Neuromancer” hooked on speed, even if Almasi lacks William Gibson’s considerable talents as a superb prose stylist; a relentless nonstop action-adventure rollercoaster of a yarn which will keep readers in suspense to the very end. Almasi’s alternate history vision of early 1980’s America is one in which the United States finds itself the sole democratic empire dealing with its often untrustworthy ally of Greater Germany (the former Nazi Third Reich and its European empire that includes Great Britain, France and much of the Middle East), the Soviet Union and an expansionist China which pioneers much of the biotechnology described in “Blades of Winter”. In this opening segment of the “SHADOWSTORM” series, young Nico must find the truth behind her father’s mysterious disappearance nearly a decade before, and how that disappearance may be tied to clandestine German bioengineering research on cloning humans as well as the activities of a mysterious group of Muslim Persian and Arab dissidents determined to free their homelands from German occupation. Without question, “Blades of Winter” marks a compelling debut of a new science fiction author who has wrought one of the most compelling examples of recent post-cyberpunk fiction I’ve seen.
Relentless, exciting and utterly engrossing in its plot and pacing, “Blades of Winter” is a superb mash-up of the espionage thriller, superhero graphic novel, post-cyberpunk and alternate history science fiction, in what promises to be the first in G. T. Almasi’s “SHADOWSTORM” series of novels. Not only is it a compelling homage to Neal Stephenson’s “Snow Crash” and “Reamde”, but, in many respects, it surpasses “Reamde” merely in its pacing and plot, and in presenting a character, nineteen-year-old Alix Nico, who is among the most compelling female characters in cyberpunk and post-cyperpunk fiction since the likes of William Gibson’s “Molly” in his “Cyberspace” trilogy and similar female protagonists in classic cyberpunk science fiction written by the likes of Pat Cadigan and Michael Swanwick, among others. “Blades of Winter” reads like “Neuromancer” hooked on speed, even if Almasi lacks William Gibson’s considerable talents as a superb prose stylist; a relentless nonstop action-adventure rollercoaster of a yarn which will keep readers in suspense to the very end. Almasi’s alternate history vision of early 1980’s America is one in which the United States finds itself the sole democratic empire dealing with its often untrustworthy ally of Greater Germany (the former Nazi Third Reich and its European empire that includes Great Britain, France and much of the Middle East), the Soviet Union and an expansionist China which pioneers much of the biotechnology described in “Blades of Winter”. In this opening segment of the “SHADOWSTORM” series, young Nico must find the truth behind her father’s mysterious disappearance nearly a decade before, and how that disappearance may be tied to clandestine German bioengineering research on cloning humans as well as the activities of a mysterious group of Muslim Persian and Arab dissidents determined to free their homelands from German occupation. Without question, “Blades of Winter” marks a compelling debut of a new science fiction author who has wrought one of the most compelling examples of recent post-cyberpunk fiction I’ve seen.
September 23, 2014
Alix Nico is one tough action spy. She was built/designed with enough enhancements ("Mods") to make the Bionic Women feel like a low-budget agent. There is plenty of blazing gun action here, quite similar to the weird effects seen in the movie Wanted (bullets zipping around corners & super-smart-powerful guns (Alix's is called "Big Bertha")).
But Alix has several problems. First off, she comes across as a hot-head who leaps into action first without thinking, yeah everyone seems to let her get away with it, like she is not responsible for her own actions. Two, she has a BIG alcohol problem. At 19 Alix seems to be an alcoholic. Once she gets on a plane she feels the need to get drunk and even smuggles her own brandy along and somewhat secretly drinks. She did this more than once in this story and did not learn from her previous experience. In the first case she gets plastered on the way to a big mission in Europe. Once she arrives she is whisked into action immediately. Oh no! I am still drunk!! I never thought I might have to shoot someone, defend my partner, and save my own life. I am only a super-powered Level (spy) armed with a powerful weapon and have killed several times already. But I'll have time to get sober and then get on with my job. What??
Alix manages to survive this with the aid of built-in drugs that she can mentally call into action (which she does a lot). She possibly has a drug dependency as well (oh yeah, she is a winner). Then later on in the story she gets drunk again while on a mission. If you have to pick Alix up from the airport, don't expect her to be sober and be able to do her job. I guess she gets away with her hot-headed impulsive actions and her alcohol and drug situations because she can kick some butt. But otherwise she is a mess. Not sure if this qualifies a Young Adult novel. The main character is 19, and has the hots for her partner. The sex is there, but not over-powering.
But Alix has several problems. First off, she comes across as a hot-head who leaps into action first without thinking, yeah everyone seems to let her get away with it, like she is not responsible for her own actions. Two, she has a BIG alcohol problem. At 19 Alix seems to be an alcoholic. Once she gets on a plane she feels the need to get drunk and even smuggles her own brandy along and somewhat secretly drinks. She did this more than once in this story and did not learn from her previous experience. In the first case she gets plastered on the way to a big mission in Europe. Once she arrives she is whisked into action immediately. Oh no! I am still drunk!! I never thought I might have to shoot someone, defend my partner, and save my own life. I am only a super-powered Level (spy) armed with a powerful weapon and have killed several times already. But I'll have time to get sober and then get on with my job. What??
Alix manages to survive this with the aid of built-in drugs that she can mentally call into action (which she does a lot). She possibly has a drug dependency as well (oh yeah, she is a winner). Then later on in the story she gets drunk again while on a mission. If you have to pick Alix up from the airport, don't expect her to be sober and be able to do her job. I guess she gets away with her hot-headed impulsive actions and her alcohol and drug situations because she can kick some butt. But otherwise she is a mess. Not sure if this qualifies a Young Adult novel. The main character is 19, and has the hots for her partner. The sex is there, but not over-powering.
December 31, 2012
Alix Nico’s world is a crazy spy-vs-spy meld of the classic espionage novels and a re-imagined world history. In it, World War II produced four superpowers and the covert stakes have been upped by biologically-modded half-cyborg agents. Anyone remember The Six Million Dollar Man?
This nineteen-year-old is the most lethal ExOps agent out there – and that’s not quite a compliment. She’s strong, fast, and has amazingly quick trigger reflexes. But she’s only nineteen, and that shows in her situational awareness… Or lack thereof. None of that really matters, until Alix is pulled into a secret op that’ll test her in more ways than she could ever imagine – and that she’ll be incredibly lucky to survive in one piece.
Blades of Winter is a roller-coaster ride a la the Jason Bourne and James Bond movies. Its frenetic, action-packed pace is tempered with history lessons – so you can take a breath before jumping back into whichever adventure Alix is haring off on next. And whatever it is, you know she’ll go in both guns blazing, because Alix only has one speed – on. That, along with her sassy attitude, makes Alix a really fun character.
I really enjoyed Blades of Winter, and I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series. Because hey, a heroine this uber-cool needs more books!
drey’s rating: Excellent!
This nineteen-year-old is the most lethal ExOps agent out there – and that’s not quite a compliment. She’s strong, fast, and has amazingly quick trigger reflexes. But she’s only nineteen, and that shows in her situational awareness… Or lack thereof. None of that really matters, until Alix is pulled into a secret op that’ll test her in more ways than she could ever imagine – and that she’ll be incredibly lucky to survive in one piece.
Blades of Winter is a roller-coaster ride a la the Jason Bourne and James Bond movies. Its frenetic, action-packed pace is tempered with history lessons – so you can take a breath before jumping back into whichever adventure Alix is haring off on next. And whatever it is, you know she’ll go in both guns blazing, because Alix only has one speed – on. That, along with her sassy attitude, makes Alix a really fun character.
I really enjoyed Blades of Winter, and I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series. Because hey, a heroine this uber-cool needs more books!
drey’s rating: Excellent!
March 8, 2013
Its set in an alternate world where there are just 3 great powers and instead of all out war disputes seem to be settled by Levels, spies who have had their bodies enhanced with bionics and chemical gene enhancements.
Alix Nico is a new young level who connives to get herself assigned a job well above her current level/ability. This triggers events of epic proportions and leads to the revelation that her father, the worlds best ever level and presumed dead, is alive and guinea pig of the enemies cloning program.
This leads to an investigation of his last case, a cover up inside her agency, and a significant global threat emerges. Battling the enemy and a mole Alix tries to uncover the truth about her father and save the day.
Its fast paced with a lot of action and its enjoyable read. However it does have some major plot holes. Like an agent who lies, takes jobs above he ability, whose inexperience causes deaths on her team, has a personal and emotional interest in the case keeps getting rewarded and promoted not disciplined. If you can over look that you’ll enjoy the book
Alix Nico is a new young level who connives to get herself assigned a job well above her current level/ability. This triggers events of epic proportions and leads to the revelation that her father, the worlds best ever level and presumed dead, is alive and guinea pig of the enemies cloning program.
This leads to an investigation of his last case, a cover up inside her agency, and a significant global threat emerges. Battling the enemy and a mole Alix tries to uncover the truth about her father and save the day.
Its fast paced with a lot of action and its enjoyable read. However it does have some major plot holes. Like an agent who lies, takes jobs above he ability, whose inexperience causes deaths on her team, has a personal and emotional interest in the case keeps getting rewarded and promoted not disciplined. If you can over look that you’ll enjoy the book
did-not-finish
May 27, 2013Reading this felt like watching someone playing a video game. In first person present tense. Despite the cool concept (SF spy novel during the Cold War!), the actual story did not engage me at all.
Things like having the heroine, a native New Yorker, internal monolog about needing to "mash the trigger" didn't help. (For those not from the US, "mash" is a southern phrase that means push. Not at all something I would expect to hear from a New Yorker. Also, I think mashing the trigger is kind of poor firearms technique??)
Anyway, did not finish. And kind of sad about it, since I'm totally in the mood for a fast-moving, inventive spy novel right now.
Things like having the heroine, a native New Yorker, internal monolog about needing to "mash the trigger" didn't help. (For those not from the US, "mash" is a southern phrase that means push. Not at all something I would expect to hear from a New Yorker. Also, I think mashing the trigger is kind of poor firearms technique??)
Anyway, did not finish. And kind of sad about it, since I'm totally in the mood for a fast-moving, inventive spy novel right now.
November 17, 2012
I won this book in a blog giveaway. I entered it because the cover rocked and the story line looked interesting. This book just BLEW ME AWAY. Non-stop action, well she stopped to reload. The cast of characters all mesh together well and had me on the edge of my seat. I started this book last night and just finished it. Now I'm going to be tapping my foot and staring at my watch till the next one is on the shelves.
December 9, 2012
Pretty strong heroine. She kicks butt, but takes quite a bit of damage. Characters are pretty believable, and supporting characters provide a necessary counterpoint to Alix/Scarlet's combination of youth, brashness, action-first mentality tempered by having to learn how to deal with the aftermath of trauma. Good action, quick read, and leaves reader anticipating the next installment.
April 26, 2014
I was looking for something new and fun to read and boy did I find it! If your tired of all the same UF books out there and want something fresh and fast paced, give this a read. Loved the word and new history he wrote, loved the characters, Scarlet is one of the strongest females I've read in a long time. Can't wait for more crazy ass Scarlet adventures.
September 3, 2012
A nice mix of alternate history and a first person shooter video game. There were a few parts that felt a little repetitive but nothing which took away from the enjoyable read. Kick ass female lead character doesn't hurt either.
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