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Shadow Dance #1
Jack Shadow
Jack Shadow. He’s heard them – every one of them. The jokes. They all start out the same. "See, this guy walks into a bar..." Well, that's not him. That guy who walked into a bar.
He’s the guy who walked out.
It's not amnesia. Near as anyone knows, he just doesn’t have a past. Near as anyone knows - or admits to. He doesn’t walk round a corner, and some guy from a car shoots at him because of something he did long ago. Sure. Guys shoot at him. Hell, women too. But not for long ago. Mostly for last week. Where 'last week' is any week you choose. No, he just walked out of a bar.
Were there piles of dead bodies behind him? A stacked deck he was dealing, or one he was dealt? He doesn’t know. Or care. But they were waiting, and they took him. The Dragon. Took him to make a difference. To wait for the time a beat of a gnat's wing could change tomorrow. And Jack’s the gnat.
Jack walked out of a bar. The rest - the rest will be history. Some day. Not that he’ll be in it. Nobody remembers the gnats. Not if they did their job right. And Jack’s the best there is.
Jack Shadow. Because some days – the last thing you need is a good guy.
Jack Shadow is a character who will stay with you long after you turn the last page of Mr. Smith's eponymous book. He does not easily fit any ready-made mold - is he a good guy or an evil one? Does he care only about himself, or does he concern himself with the welfare of others? He commits some pretty brutal acts - are these justified, or are they the display of something seriously wrong inside? I kept asking myself these questions while reading the book, and thanks to Graeme Smith's mastery of his material, the answers were never easy.
Indeed, the book does contain some breakneck paced action, it takes you to some pretty brutal and dark mental and physical spaces and it contains enough twists for several books, all deftly handled and all perfectly logical (I had to re-read some passages a few times, to ensure Mr. Smith was not cheating, but was following logical threads). The adventure is never boring, never dull, and always exciting.
I will avoid giving any spoilers, but do give this book a chance to take you to a new place, and I bet you will be craving a sequel or three - I know I am! Kal Karastoyanov
Daniel Grant
Jack is a terrific character and you really don't know what's going to happen next! Just when you think you know where the story is going, Jack makes sure that you're wrong.........or are you? This was truly a fun read and I really would love to know what Jack will get up to next. The only hint I'll give to new readers is read it and don't be afraid to question what's happening. That's half the fun! There are details within details and even some explanation for real life puzzles. I've said too much....Jack may object!
He’s the guy who walked out.
It's not amnesia. Near as anyone knows, he just doesn’t have a past. Near as anyone knows - or admits to. He doesn’t walk round a corner, and some guy from a car shoots at him because of something he did long ago. Sure. Guys shoot at him. Hell, women too. But not for long ago. Mostly for last week. Where 'last week' is any week you choose. No, he just walked out of a bar.
Were there piles of dead bodies behind him? A stacked deck he was dealing, or one he was dealt? He doesn’t know. Or care. But they were waiting, and they took him. The Dragon. Took him to make a difference. To wait for the time a beat of a gnat's wing could change tomorrow. And Jack’s the gnat.
Jack walked out of a bar. The rest - the rest will be history. Some day. Not that he’ll be in it. Nobody remembers the gnats. Not if they did their job right. And Jack’s the best there is.
Jack Shadow. Because some days – the last thing you need is a good guy.
Jack Shadow is a character who will stay with you long after you turn the last page of Mr. Smith's eponymous book. He does not easily fit any ready-made mold - is he a good guy or an evil one? Does he care only about himself, or does he concern himself with the welfare of others? He commits some pretty brutal acts - are these justified, or are they the display of something seriously wrong inside? I kept asking myself these questions while reading the book, and thanks to Graeme Smith's mastery of his material, the answers were never easy.
Indeed, the book does contain some breakneck paced action, it takes you to some pretty brutal and dark mental and physical spaces and it contains enough twists for several books, all deftly handled and all perfectly logical (I had to re-read some passages a few times, to ensure Mr. Smith was not cheating, but was following logical threads). The adventure is never boring, never dull, and always exciting.
I will avoid giving any spoilers, but do give this book a chance to take you to a new place, and I bet you will be craving a sequel or three - I know I am! Kal Karastoyanov
Daniel Grant
Jack is a terrific character and you really don't know what's going to happen next! Just when you think you know where the story is going, Jack makes sure that you're wrong.........or are you? This was truly a fun read and I really would love to know what Jack will get up to next. The only hint I'll give to new readers is read it and don't be afraid to question what's happening. That's half the fun! There are details within details and even some explanation for real life puzzles. I've said too much....Jack may object!
196 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 19, 2012
6 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Graeme Smith
8 books17 followersThis is me. Graeme Smith. Fantasy writer. Mostly comic fantasy (which is fantasy intended to make you laugh, not fantasy in comics) :-).
When I'm not writing (well, or editing my writing. Or re-writing. Or editing my re-writing. Or... Quite. You get the picture), I'm doing other things. Things like wishing I could play keyboards. And not playing them, not even very badly. Things like online gaming (If you know Bard Elcano, you know me. If you know a grumpy old dragon called Sephiranoth, you know me. If you know a tall, dark, handsome but brooding vampire, charming witty and brilliant - we never met. That's someone else.) And strange midnight practices involving mushrooms. And garlic. And knitting needles. But the less said of my cooking, the better :-P.
So there you are. This is me. Graeme Smith. Short, fat, bald and ugly (fortunately my wife has lousy taste in men). Time was, I worked on a psychiatric ward. Now I write about people who believe in magic and dragons, and who live where the crazy folk are the ones who don’t.
When I'm not writing (well, or editing my writing. Or re-writing. Or editing my re-writing. Or... Quite. You get the picture), I'm doing other things. Things like wishing I could play keyboards. And not playing them, not even very badly. Things like online gaming (If you know Bard Elcano, you know me. If you know a grumpy old dragon called Sephiranoth, you know me. If you know a tall, dark, handsome but brooding vampire, charming witty and brilliant - we never met. That's someone else.) And strange midnight practices involving mushrooms. And garlic. And knitting needles. But the less said of my cooking, the better :-P.
So there you are. This is me. Graeme Smith. Short, fat, bald and ugly (fortunately my wife has lousy taste in men). Time was, I worked on a psychiatric ward. Now I write about people who believe in magic and dragons, and who live where the crazy folk are the ones who don’t.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 23, 2013
It was entertaining, but there are some serious WTF is going on here? and telling vs showing issues going on in this book. Despite that,I'd read another in the series. But, clarity would be nice.
November 30, 2025
Danger is the spice of life when one is in certain lines of work.
Jack had a well-rounded, intriguing personality that made me want to learn more about him. I appreciated his wry sense of humor and how intelligently and cautiously he approached every aspect of his work. He was the sort of character I’d want to hang out with during an emergency due to how closely he paid attention to small details in his environment as well as how prepared he was for a wide variety of possible outcomes in life, both positive and negative.
This was one of those tales that tossed the reader into the action and asked us to figure out what was happening as the protagonist attempted to stay alive and well. As much as I enjoy the challenge of this style of writing in general, I did find myself wishing for a little more exposition in the beginning in this case. Even a few more paragraphs worth of it would have catapulted this to a five-star rating for me as I enjoyed everything else about it and thought Jack was definitely someone worth getting to know better.
The time travel aspects of the storyline were handled nicely. It can be a complicated topic, especially when more than one trip is involved or when multiple characters are involved, so I was glad to see Mr. Smith spend some time digging into the risks involved and what the characters hoped to earn from their hard work.
Jack Shadow was fast-paced and adventurous.
Jack had a well-rounded, intriguing personality that made me want to learn more about him. I appreciated his wry sense of humor and how intelligently and cautiously he approached every aspect of his work. He was the sort of character I’d want to hang out with during an emergency due to how closely he paid attention to small details in his environment as well as how prepared he was for a wide variety of possible outcomes in life, both positive and negative.
This was one of those tales that tossed the reader into the action and asked us to figure out what was happening as the protagonist attempted to stay alive and well. As much as I enjoy the challenge of this style of writing in general, I did find myself wishing for a little more exposition in the beginning in this case. Even a few more paragraphs worth of it would have catapulted this to a five-star rating for me as I enjoyed everything else about it and thought Jack was definitely someone worth getting to know better.
The time travel aspects of the storyline were handled nicely. It can be a complicated topic, especially when more than one trip is involved or when multiple characters are involved, so I was glad to see Mr. Smith spend some time digging into the risks involved and what the characters hoped to earn from their hard work.
Jack Shadow was fast-paced and adventurous.
October 21, 2012
I will say up front I know this author from online groups and really like his writing. He has a tremendous voice.
While the voice is here in Jack Shadow, the story is baffling. I had a hard time following what was going on. There were some quirky things I enjoyed -- the author does quirky really well! -- but on the whole I was too busy trying to figure out what the heck was happening. I'm still not sure what the plot was about. Except it had something to do with time. And people after Jack. And Jack after people. 'People' not exactly meaning... Never mind. I won't go there.
I read the first few pages of this long ago and thought Jack was too unlikable to use as a main character. Either I didn't read far enough or the author's lightened him up. Jack works fine as a main character.
Anyone reading this review should realize the problem in understanding what JACK SHADOW's about likely lies with me. I feel sure a sharper mind will follow the story and enjoy it tremendously. Especially one who loves SF/fantasy. That's the reason I give it four stars.
While the voice is here in Jack Shadow, the story is baffling. I had a hard time following what was going on. There were some quirky things I enjoyed -- the author does quirky really well! -- but on the whole I was too busy trying to figure out what the heck was happening. I'm still not sure what the plot was about. Except it had something to do with time. And people after Jack. And Jack after people. 'People' not exactly meaning... Never mind. I won't go there.
I read the first few pages of this long ago and thought Jack was too unlikable to use as a main character. Either I didn't read far enough or the author's lightened him up. Jack works fine as a main character.
Anyone reading this review should realize the problem in understanding what JACK SHADOW's about likely lies with me. I feel sure a sharper mind will follow the story and enjoy it tremendously. Especially one who loves SF/fantasy. That's the reason I give it four stars.
December 12, 2012
I give this book a 4 star rating alone for the voice and humor. I love Graeme's wit in all of the books/stories he writes. He has an intelligent sense of humor that I quite enjoy.
He is also quite crafty at coming up with the most interesting concepts and plot twists.
I would agree some with Cheryl, there is a quite a bit going on with characters and arcs, so that is why I give it 4 out of 5.
The ending is definitely interesting and certainly not predictable.
He is also quite crafty at coming up with the most interesting concepts and plot twists.
I would agree some with Cheryl, there is a quite a bit going on with characters and arcs, so that is why I give it 4 out of 5.
The ending is definitely interesting and certainly not predictable.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews