What do you think?
Rate this book
Twisted Tree #2
No Deadly Thing
This novel is an episodic genre mash up that incorporates elements of dark urban fantasy and military fiction. NDT balances its detailed character studies with dazzling action and adventure. If you're searching for something uncommon, this is the novel for you!
Ashrinn Pinecroft has spent a lifetime trying to forget his mixed family’s expulsion from his native Iran, so much so that he finds himself halfway across the world, having made a career out of the American elite anti-terrorist unit, Delta Force.
When a sniper’s bullet and a worsening mental illness cut that career short, Ashrinn will do anything to feel useful.
Even believe in magic.
The Zoroastrian myths his mother entertained him with as a child have found new, twisted life in the streets of Seattle, and he has a central role to play whether he likes it or not. Ashrinn must use his newfound divine powers to save the Pacific Northwest from an evil snake handling cult, a cult hell bent on sacrificing him to their demon god.
With a group of ragtag comrades including a half crazy werewolf, a psychic sniper, and his equally blessed best friend and former Delta teammate at his side, Ashrinn will do everything he can to combat the corruption eating away at his new home.
Yet sometimes, the greatest horror imaginable and the things held most dear are one and the same, and corruption is not so easily spotted when it hits close to home.
This book can be read as a stand alone title, but it is a companion work to The Wicked Instead.(less)
Ashrinn Pinecroft has spent a lifetime trying to forget his mixed family’s expulsion from his native Iran, so much so that he finds himself halfway across the world, having made a career out of the American elite anti-terrorist unit, Delta Force.
When a sniper’s bullet and a worsening mental illness cut that career short, Ashrinn will do anything to feel useful.
Even believe in magic.
The Zoroastrian myths his mother entertained him with as a child have found new, twisted life in the streets of Seattle, and he has a central role to play whether he likes it or not. Ashrinn must use his newfound divine powers to save the Pacific Northwest from an evil snake handling cult, a cult hell bent on sacrificing him to their demon god.
With a group of ragtag comrades including a half crazy werewolf, a psychic sniper, and his equally blessed best friend and former Delta teammate at his side, Ashrinn will do everything he can to combat the corruption eating away at his new home.
Yet sometimes, the greatest horror imaginable and the things held most dear are one and the same, and corruption is not so easily spotted when it hits close to home.
This book can be read as a stand alone title, but it is a companion work to The Wicked Instead.(less)
- GenresFantasyUrban Fantasy
421 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2012
272 people want to read
About the author
Tiger Gray
1 book35 followersTiger Gray writes serious and seriously twisted LGBT speculative fiction. Often Tiger's stories include complex treatments of intersectionality and incorporate the experience of being Othered. The extremes of human behavior and questions about morality often play into Tiger's tales.
Tiger also co-owns Hard Limits Press, a company focused on multicultural novels not for the nervous. If you're yearning for a novel with a cast of minority characters in primary roles, check out the offerings on the company webpage.
Pronouns (a work in progress): they/ze/he
Tiger also co-owns Hard Limits Press, a company focused on multicultural novels not for the nervous. If you're yearning for a novel with a cast of minority characters in primary roles, check out the offerings on the company webpage.
Pronouns (a work in progress): they/ze/he
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 9, 2016
No Deadly Thing by Tiger Gray is the author’s debut novel and the second book in the Twisted Tree series published by Hard Limits Press. The story is set in the American Pacific Northwest and the author fuses the tenets of good and evil of the ancient Zoroastrian religion and philosophy with the theme of environmental contamination to write an elaborate urban fantasy tale that also interweaves strong elements of action/adventure and mystery. The writing is refined and textured and well serves the plot, world building and characterisation.
Ashrinn Pinecroft has spent a lifetime trying to forget his Anglo-Persian family’s expulsion from his native Iran. He has made a career as a soldier serving in Iraq as the leader of the elite American anti-terrorist unit, Delta Force. When a sniper’s bullet cuts Ashrinn’s career short, he wakes up in an infirmary tent not sure of his reality or whether he’s hallucinating the silver-haired man standing at the foot of his bed. The man is named Randolph and he is the leader of the Order of the White Eagle, a group of magicals on a mission to rid the evil that is infecting the Pacific Northwest. Randolph enlists Ashrinn to lead a group of paladins (warriors) in the fight against this evil force.
The Zoroastrian myths Ashrinn’s mother entertained him with as a child have found new, twisted life in the streets of Seattle, and he has a central role to play in the fight against destruction, whether he likes it or not. Ashrinn must use his newfound divine powers to save the Pacific Northwest from an evil snake-handling cult that is contaminating the waters with its magic, killing both magicals and humans. The cult is also hell bent on sacrificing Ashrinn to their demon god. With a ragtag group of warriors that call themselves The Storm, and includes a half crazy werewolf, a psychic sniper, and his equally blessed best friend and former Delta team mate Malkai (Mal) Tielhart at his side, Ashrinn will do everything in his power to combat the corruption. But sometimes the greatest horror imaginable and the things held most dear are one and the same, and corruption is not so easily spotted when it hits close to home.
The complete review of No Deadly Thing by Tiger Gray is available at Indie Reviews.
February 3, 2014
No Deadly Thing is a thrilling take on urban fantasy. The characters are easy to like, or at least become attached to, and the plot itself is well rounded and well researched. Things start out with what seems to be your standard discovery-of-powers, then quickly devolve into urban warfare with mundane humanity caught in the middle. Romance is present, but secondary to a story that pulls no punches whatsoever.
The only issue I had was a sort of glossing over of certain plot stages. Events would be summarized when I would rather have watched them play out in real time. This made the plot a little difficult to follow at times. I also disliked that one rather major character left the stage about three quarters through the book. Hopefully Tiger is just saving this character for another book.
It was still an incredible journey, and one that I will likely revisit on a lazy day. Highly recommended.
The only issue I had was a sort of glossing over of certain plot stages. Events would be summarized when I would rather have watched them play out in real time. This made the plot a little difficult to follow at times. I also disliked that one rather major character left the stage about three quarters through the book. Hopefully Tiger is just saving this character for another book.
It was still an incredible journey, and one that I will likely revisit on a lazy day. Highly recommended.
September 16, 2013
Tiger Gray is not afraid to let you see the damage.
The story, while being an overarching epic, is primarily driven by its characters, all of whom are self-aware and influenced by their own histories. Histories which can be ugly, and painful. Everyone has made decisions they regret. Everyone has something to hide. Everyone hopes that they’re doing the right thing. I like that I can see the characters struggling to be better than they are, fighting their own fears, fighting their own shame, their own secrets, and occasionally failing.
Every character carries their own damage, and none of this is glossed over as these inherently flawed characters fight to save their world... even when it would be so much easier if they just gave up. Even when it sometimes seems like they should be asking if there's anything worth saving.
The story, while being an overarching epic, is primarily driven by its characters, all of whom are self-aware and influenced by their own histories. Histories which can be ugly, and painful. Everyone has made decisions they regret. Everyone has something to hide. Everyone hopes that they’re doing the right thing. I like that I can see the characters struggling to be better than they are, fighting their own fears, fighting their own shame, their own secrets, and occasionally failing.
Every character carries their own damage, and none of this is glossed over as these inherently flawed characters fight to save their world... even when it would be so much easier if they just gave up. Even when it sometimes seems like they should be asking if there's anything worth saving.
September 15, 2014
Recently, I’ve been on an indie author binge. After winning a free copy of a book a while back, I decided to give more indies a chance. Typically, the results have been very mixed. Either really good, or horribly bad. I find it fitting that the latest indie I have come across has managed to tick both sides of the spectrum with resounding force, though the bad isn’t quite the BAD I’ve read elsewhere.
No Deadly Thing is a fantasy novel that incorporates religious themes and tones to create a unique story that you don’t often find in novels today.
Let me bounce back and forth on some of the things I thought while reading the book.
First, the author is probably one of the better world smiths in the market today. Bar none. Sometimes, you get the feeling an author is rushing through a book and uses fast food patchwork to get through scenes. Not in this book. The dialogue is always on point, the imagery seems to be chiseled out of fine mahogany, and the character actions never have you re-reading a part to understand it. Words are used to describe this world in such incredible ways that I was left saying “Damn.”
I don’t want it to seem like I am overstating this fact that NDT is crisp, and well-educated. The literature is simply eloquent on a level not seen anymore. As such, it must be commended. From the first few lines of the novel, you are sucked into the poetry (but not dense, unreadable crap) that is this novel. NDT manages to do all this, while still feeling like action novel. I’m not sure how it happened, but it did.
Second, the first big complaint I have about this novel is the lack of camera focus. What I mean by that, is sometimes the book gets caught up in the sculpting ability of the author, that it loses focus on things that are probably more important. We get a lot of insights into what is happening in several characters heads, but often it’s rehashing. Then, something exciting happens, and you’re memorized by it, then the fast forward button is hit and we’re off somewhere/sometime different, and you’re like “what?”
The book is so rich with a character arc for its main characters, that sometimes it forgets about this thing called a plot and a cohesive story. I know who Ashrinn is. He changes a lot, and sometimes in very extreme ways, but I want more about what’s propelling this Universe. There is a higher call that has put a duty on his shoulders, and I want more about why that exists, and less about his (more on this in a second). It just seems too much happens to every character on a personal level, that little is left for the external struggles of the world.
Which brings me to the third point, this should be a saga, or 700 pages longer. Each aspect of Ashrinn’s own internal demons and personal growth is engaging , that it seems kind of shallow to force feed them all in between a front and back cover. This would allow for a smaller timeline, and more focus on Ashrinn’s journey from a wounded soldier with no knowledge of this fantastical worldly element, to a leader of a special army, so to speak. Also, you get this big revelation about Ashrinn’s . This is something I think deserved to explored in its own novel, and not thrown in haphazardly as character depth. This happens with a lot of characters, where they have great internal struggles that can be explored, but when it is it’s repetitive, or cut short for the sake of time advancement.
Another reason this camera focus is an issue is because the active, and head-to-head struggles of the good vs bad elements of the novel are quite engaging. I mentioned earlier that the action was done well, and I wanted more of it. Perhaps that was not the intent of this novel, but I think that element deserved to be highlighted more because of how well it was executed. Again, take 2 or 3 of the rich internal struggles of the characters, develop and advance them with the care they deserve, and that the author is capable of, and give me more action! I’m not asking for you to be Michael Bay here...
Finally, my last point: this novel gets a bit preachy. Before I’m labeled a hater, let me state that my brother is homosexual, and I saw how horribly he was treated growing up. I’m glad there is an author who is willing to put diverse core of characters in the forefront. However, it came off that this novel (despite being in Seattle, a place known to be void of diverse skin colors) was more about forcing acceptance in my face, and using anyone but a straight white dude. Like, let’s use one if we have to, but maybe make him a pizza delivery guy or some evil, corporate Republican. That’s just glorious exaggeration on my part to make a point.
I’m not saying I’m offended, or that every novel must represent everyone to the fullest. What I am saying is that it was so crammed pack with personal demons, and time advancement, that the wonderfully intriguing things seemed to turn into an agenda because of the lack of focus. The reason I felt this way is because a character goes from being married, to having bisexual feelings, to engaging in M/M sex, and we’re just supposed to be cool with it. Like, he’s some tortured soul who is finally free to express himself. No, my brother was a tortured soul, this character is just a cheating bastard. I don’t care what brought this about previously. This notion that every bi/gay man has to have a wife, and live a tortured secret life, in order to hide who he really is underneath, is false. They may love their wives and kids, but you’re not being fair with their feelings. I know it sucks that you feel ridicule, but as my brother puts it “Why torment someone else to hide my fears? It doesn’t make it right.”
All in all, I am flabbergasted. My over all enjoyment of this book was so high. I really did LOVE the parts I liked. Then again, sometimes I wonder if I am just looking at the potential. It’s like a house that needs renovating. Some TLC in the master bath, and maybe some granite in the kitchen, and it’s worth 200 grand more. Or maybe that’s just too much work and an investment to be worth it, and it could be a money pit.
I could go on, but I want to sum it up. Some aspects deserve a 5-star rating. Some a 2-star rating. My gut says a 3 is too low, but a 4 says I’m forgiving it of its sins. A 3.5 star rating is not possible. So, I want to NOT give a star rating at this point. At the end of the day, I am glad I read the book. And if that’s the way I feel, then NDT deserves the extra half star added to the 3.5 rating more than it deserves to have it taken away and made into a 3-star rating. So, there you have it.
Hopefully this review will prove helpful to those of you that wish to read it, or validate your own opinions on the novel if you already have.
No Deadly Thing is a fantasy novel that incorporates religious themes and tones to create a unique story that you don’t often find in novels today.
Let me bounce back and forth on some of the things I thought while reading the book.
First, the author is probably one of the better world smiths in the market today. Bar none. Sometimes, you get the feeling an author is rushing through a book and uses fast food patchwork to get through scenes. Not in this book. The dialogue is always on point, the imagery seems to be chiseled out of fine mahogany, and the character actions never have you re-reading a part to understand it. Words are used to describe this world in such incredible ways that I was left saying “Damn.”
I don’t want it to seem like I am overstating this fact that NDT is crisp, and well-educated. The literature is simply eloquent on a level not seen anymore. As such, it must be commended. From the first few lines of the novel, you are sucked into the poetry (but not dense, unreadable crap) that is this novel. NDT manages to do all this, while still feeling like action novel. I’m not sure how it happened, but it did.
Second, the first big complaint I have about this novel is the lack of camera focus. What I mean by that, is sometimes the book gets caught up in the sculpting ability of the author, that it loses focus on things that are probably more important. We get a lot of insights into what is happening in several characters heads, but often it’s rehashing. Then, something exciting happens, and you’re memorized by it, then the fast forward button is hit and we’re off somewhere/sometime different, and you’re like “what?”
The book is so rich with a character arc for its main characters, that sometimes it forgets about this thing called a plot and a cohesive story. I know who Ashrinn is. He changes a lot, and sometimes in very extreme ways, but I want more about what’s propelling this Universe. There is a higher call that has put a duty on his shoulders, and I want more about why that exists, and less about his (more on this in a second). It just seems too much happens to every character on a personal level, that little is left for the external struggles of the world.
Which brings me to the third point, this should be a saga, or 700 pages longer. Each aspect of Ashrinn’s own internal demons and personal growth is engaging , that it seems kind of shallow to force feed them all in between a front and back cover. This would allow for a smaller timeline, and more focus on Ashrinn’s journey from a wounded soldier with no knowledge of this fantastical worldly element, to a leader of a special army, so to speak. Also, you get this big revelation about Ashrinn’s . This is something I think deserved to explored in its own novel, and not thrown in haphazardly as character depth. This happens with a lot of characters, where they have great internal struggles that can be explored, but when it is it’s repetitive, or cut short for the sake of time advancement.
Another reason this camera focus is an issue is because the active, and head-to-head struggles of the good vs bad elements of the novel are quite engaging. I mentioned earlier that the action was done well, and I wanted more of it. Perhaps that was not the intent of this novel, but I think that element deserved to be highlighted more because of how well it was executed. Again, take 2 or 3 of the rich internal struggles of the characters, develop and advance them with the care they deserve, and that the author is capable of, and give me more action! I’m not asking for you to be Michael Bay here...
Finally, my last point: this novel gets a bit preachy. Before I’m labeled a hater, let me state that my brother is homosexual, and I saw how horribly he was treated growing up. I’m glad there is an author who is willing to put diverse core of characters in the forefront. However, it came off that this novel (despite being in Seattle, a place known to be void of diverse skin colors) was more about forcing acceptance in my face, and using anyone but a straight white dude. Like, let’s use one if we have to, but maybe make him a pizza delivery guy or some evil, corporate Republican. That’s just glorious exaggeration on my part to make a point.
I’m not saying I’m offended, or that every novel must represent everyone to the fullest. What I am saying is that it was so crammed pack with personal demons, and time advancement, that the wonderfully intriguing things seemed to turn into an agenda because of the lack of focus. The reason I felt this way is because a character goes from being married, to having bisexual feelings, to engaging in M/M sex, and we’re just supposed to be cool with it. Like, he’s some tortured soul who is finally free to express himself. No, my brother was a tortured soul, this character is just a cheating bastard. I don’t care what brought this about previously. This notion that every bi/gay man has to have a wife, and live a tortured secret life, in order to hide who he really is underneath, is false. They may love their wives and kids, but you’re not being fair with their feelings. I know it sucks that you feel ridicule, but as my brother puts it “Why torment someone else to hide my fears? It doesn’t make it right.”
All in all, I am flabbergasted. My over all enjoyment of this book was so high. I really did LOVE the parts I liked. Then again, sometimes I wonder if I am just looking at the potential. It’s like a house that needs renovating. Some TLC in the master bath, and maybe some granite in the kitchen, and it’s worth 200 grand more. Or maybe that’s just too much work and an investment to be worth it, and it could be a money pit.
I could go on, but I want to sum it up. Some aspects deserve a 5-star rating. Some a 2-star rating. My gut says a 3 is too low, but a 4 says I’m forgiving it of its sins. A 3.5 star rating is not possible. So, I want to NOT give a star rating at this point. At the end of the day, I am glad I read the book. And if that’s the way I feel, then NDT deserves the extra half star added to the 3.5 rating more than it deserves to have it taken away and made into a 3-star rating. So, there you have it.
Hopefully this review will prove helpful to those of you that wish to read it, or validate your own opinions on the novel if you already have.
May 20, 2014
3.5 stars/A Writer to Watch
No Deadly Thing is a unique urban fantasy that brings Middle Eastern mythology, an exploration of m/m sexuality, and a military element to the genre.
WHAT I LOVED:
• Sharp dialogue that immediately conveyed the voices and frank military camaraderie of the main characters Ashrinn and Malkai. The everyman lingo snaps and I laughed outright more than once at their repartee. It’s clear that Tiger Gray knows these characters inside and out.
Ex. “Oh, excuse me for having thoughts generally more poetic than, golly gee I sure love Wild Turkey and mayonnaise sandwiches.”
• Gray has a terrific grasp of emotional depth (especially when it comes to self-identity/sexual-identity, shame, love, and hate), and a mastery of language and imagery:
Ex. She reminded him of a scarlet ibis, all vivid colors and hollow bones.
• The relationships between the soldiers (Ashrinn and Malkai, and Ashrinn and his team) felt deep and genuine and I was rooting for them until the end.
• The use of Zoroastrianism and a Persian MC was new and interesting and I wanted even more of this; it sets the book apart from most urban fantasies, IMO. Gray shines when he writes of the Middle East and mysticism.
• Exciting action scenes and realistic military aspects contrasted with the at-times awkwardness of home life for these post-war soldiers.
• Believable (ie. non-mechanical) and enjoyable adult (m/m) sexual encounters. Gray has an ability to organically (not orgasmically) convey the characters’ thoughts and emotions during sex scenes. Normally I find this distracting (less talking/thinking, more gettin’ it on), but in this case, it added depth to the scenes and the characters, especially when it conveyed their struggle with sexual identity. (Bravo!)
Ex. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the torment that was pleasure and pain together…
WHAT CAUSED ME TROUBLE:
• The book feels like it really should be two or three books. A lot of time passes to allow the characters and their situation to develop, but that resulted in some large gaps in time/knowledge in order to make the whole story fit into one book. That meant information and actions were glossed over or left out, and this resulted in Gray showing, rather than telling, readers what had occurred to cover those gaps. I was left wanting to see what hadn’t been shown.
• Too many POV characters resulted in some not getting full development, which is a shame because the two main characters (Ashrinn and Mal) were well developed, interesting, and showed good depth and realistic character arcs. I would have liked seeing the same depth from those other characters, as well as stronger relationships between the MCs and their families.
• I felt like too many secrets were held back to be revealed in a rush in the final chapters. This resulted in confusion and a nagging sense that I was missing something obvious as I read.
• The milieu wasn’t always explained clearly and I still feel a bit lost as to how some of the magic works. (This also would have been solved by No Deadly Thing being extended into two or three books.)
• A typo or two in a novel doesn’t trouble me, but there were too many for my comfort here, as well as places where actions were repeated. (ie. Characters sit down and then are shown sitting down again on the next page.) Note: this book was edited and copyedited, so I’m not sure why these problems remain.
THE VERDICT:
Tiger Gray has the potential to be a formidable urban fantasy author, one who’s unafraid of breaking with conventions and taking chances. Gray’s grasp of imagery, language, dialogue, and emotion are admirable and will only grow with each new book. It’s a shame that No Deadly Thing suffers from issues that the editors should have caught.
RECOMMENDATION:
Read it but be prepared to be frustrated at times. I was but I’m glad I read through to the end, and I plan to stick with this series because I think Gray is going to produce some terrific books.
I purchased this book and read it as part of the Fringe Fiction Read and Review Challenge.
No Deadly Thing is a unique urban fantasy that brings Middle Eastern mythology, an exploration of m/m sexuality, and a military element to the genre.
WHAT I LOVED:
• Sharp dialogue that immediately conveyed the voices and frank military camaraderie of the main characters Ashrinn and Malkai. The everyman lingo snaps and I laughed outright more than once at their repartee. It’s clear that Tiger Gray knows these characters inside and out.
Ex. “Oh, excuse me for having thoughts generally more poetic than, golly gee I sure love Wild Turkey and mayonnaise sandwiches.”
• Gray has a terrific grasp of emotional depth (especially when it comes to self-identity/sexual-identity, shame, love, and hate), and a mastery of language and imagery:
Ex. She reminded him of a scarlet ibis, all vivid colors and hollow bones.
• The relationships between the soldiers (Ashrinn and Malkai, and Ashrinn and his team) felt deep and genuine and I was rooting for them until the end.
• The use of Zoroastrianism and a Persian MC was new and interesting and I wanted even more of this; it sets the book apart from most urban fantasies, IMO. Gray shines when he writes of the Middle East and mysticism.
• Exciting action scenes and realistic military aspects contrasted with the at-times awkwardness of home life for these post-war soldiers.
• Believable (ie. non-mechanical) and enjoyable adult (m/m) sexual encounters. Gray has an ability to organically (not orgasmically) convey the characters’ thoughts and emotions during sex scenes. Normally I find this distracting (less talking/thinking, more gettin’ it on), but in this case, it added depth to the scenes and the characters, especially when it conveyed their struggle with sexual identity. (Bravo!)
Ex. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the torment that was pleasure and pain together…
WHAT CAUSED ME TROUBLE:
• The book feels like it really should be two or three books. A lot of time passes to allow the characters and their situation to develop, but that resulted in some large gaps in time/knowledge in order to make the whole story fit into one book. That meant information and actions were glossed over or left out, and this resulted in Gray showing, rather than telling, readers what had occurred to cover those gaps. I was left wanting to see what hadn’t been shown.
• Too many POV characters resulted in some not getting full development, which is a shame because the two main characters (Ashrinn and Mal) were well developed, interesting, and showed good depth and realistic character arcs. I would have liked seeing the same depth from those other characters, as well as stronger relationships between the MCs and their families.
• I felt like too many secrets were held back to be revealed in a rush in the final chapters. This resulted in confusion and a nagging sense that I was missing something obvious as I read.
• The milieu wasn’t always explained clearly and I still feel a bit lost as to how some of the magic works. (This also would have been solved by No Deadly Thing being extended into two or three books.)
• A typo or two in a novel doesn’t trouble me, but there were too many for my comfort here, as well as places where actions were repeated. (ie. Characters sit down and then are shown sitting down again on the next page.) Note: this book was edited and copyedited, so I’m not sure why these problems remain.
THE VERDICT:
Tiger Gray has the potential to be a formidable urban fantasy author, one who’s unafraid of breaking with conventions and taking chances. Gray’s grasp of imagery, language, dialogue, and emotion are admirable and will only grow with each new book. It’s a shame that No Deadly Thing suffers from issues that the editors should have caught.
RECOMMENDATION:
Read it but be prepared to be frustrated at times. I was but I’m glad I read through to the end, and I plan to stick with this series because I think Gray is going to produce some terrific books.
I purchased this book and read it as part of the Fringe Fiction Read and Review Challenge.
October 12, 2014
Today, I am reviewing the Urban Fantasy/Paranormal story No Deadly Thing by Tiger Gray. This is an action-packed, fast-moving novel that tells a compelling tale, but maybe tries to do too much in too little space. Ashrinn must fight against an evil, corrupting cult using the magic in his world that he isn’t, at first, aware of, but which he learns permeates every aspect of his life—including his wife, a fire mage with a terrible secret; and his neighbor and squadmate who is married to a Fae and blessed/cursed with halfbreed children.
I give this book a 3.75/5. Here is my breakdown.
Characters: 4/5. I loved the development of the Storm, a magical team put together to combat the Cult, and the struggles Ashrinn had to work through to put it together and make it into a cohesive unit. I thought that most of the development was great, and I thought I got a good sense of who each character was. There is m/m bisexuality/homosexuality described in detail in this novel, but, as a heterosexual male reader, I had no problem with any of the ways it was described. My only criticism here is that there could have been so much more time devoted to each person—Gray does a good job making the characters feel important, but readers want to understand important characters in and out.
Plot/Storyline: 4.5/5. A compelling storyline, rich in depth and scope. World-altering danger and a real, personal sense of peril all in one. Kiriana’s revelation was also well-done. I didn’t feel like there were any wasted scenes or red herrings. Again, I wish that this story had been better described in a few places—not because Gray’s rendition was bad, but because it was rushed; too much happening too quickly to get to the final battle.
Flow: 2.5/5. Here is the major weakness in No Deadly Thing. The first portion of the book is marred by massive time-jumps, most often unexplained. Ashrinn starts out as a soldier who knows nothing about magic until he performs an unexplained miracle, but within the space of a few pages already understands why people are afraid of werewolves and the different kinds of mages. There are also several POV changes, which can throw some people off, although I thought Gray executed them reasonably well. I was concerned about the time-jumps as I went through the novel, but it lessens somewhat as one approaches the second half of the book.
Spelling/Grammar: 4/5. Better than most novels. There were a few minor misspellings, especially toward the end of the book, but I would happily put No Deadly Thing up against several traditionally published works I’ve seen recently.
Overall: 3.75/5. This is a good book as it stands…but with a little bit of division, a little bit more time taken on some of the characters and story ideas, it could have been a great book. I’ve seen reviews that recommend that Gray divide No Deadly Thing into several other novels, each focusing on a specific portion of the original. That might have worked, but I also would have enjoyed the work being longer, with more detail. I will be checking out the sequel.
I give this book a 3.75/5. Here is my breakdown.
Characters: 4/5. I loved the development of the Storm, a magical team put together to combat the Cult, and the struggles Ashrinn had to work through to put it together and make it into a cohesive unit. I thought that most of the development was great, and I thought I got a good sense of who each character was. There is m/m bisexuality/homosexuality described in detail in this novel, but, as a heterosexual male reader, I had no problem with any of the ways it was described. My only criticism here is that there could have been so much more time devoted to each person—Gray does a good job making the characters feel important, but readers want to understand important characters in and out.
Plot/Storyline: 4.5/5. A compelling storyline, rich in depth and scope. World-altering danger and a real, personal sense of peril all in one. Kiriana’s revelation was also well-done. I didn’t feel like there were any wasted scenes or red herrings. Again, I wish that this story had been better described in a few places—not because Gray’s rendition was bad, but because it was rushed; too much happening too quickly to get to the final battle.
Flow: 2.5/5. Here is the major weakness in No Deadly Thing. The first portion of the book is marred by massive time-jumps, most often unexplained. Ashrinn starts out as a soldier who knows nothing about magic until he performs an unexplained miracle, but within the space of a few pages already understands why people are afraid of werewolves and the different kinds of mages. There are also several POV changes, which can throw some people off, although I thought Gray executed them reasonably well. I was concerned about the time-jumps as I went through the novel, but it lessens somewhat as one approaches the second half of the book.
Spelling/Grammar: 4/5. Better than most novels. There were a few minor misspellings, especially toward the end of the book, but I would happily put No Deadly Thing up against several traditionally published works I’ve seen recently.
Overall: 3.75/5. This is a good book as it stands…but with a little bit of division, a little bit more time taken on some of the characters and story ideas, it could have been a great book. I’ve seen reviews that recommend that Gray divide No Deadly Thing into several other novels, each focusing on a specific portion of the original. That might have worked, but I also would have enjoyed the work being longer, with more detail. I will be checking out the sequel.
November 20, 2014
Two paladins discover their true nature and experience a sexual awakening in the middle of a battle for good and evil.
At least, that's the blurb I would have preferred.
I'm usually a speed reader, but No Deadly Thing took me awhile longer than usual.
I loved the ideas. The mythology is well-researched, the characters well developed with emotional depth, crisp entertaining dialogue, and a magical universe that's explained logically. My reading enjoyment, however, was sporadic at best.
A lot of inconsistencies that contradicted the plot. Many formatting, spelling, and grammar errors. Some beautifully constructed sentences marred with many more awkward sentences. I found the book hard to read. Too many problems to list. I'm normally able to pinpoint the main problem, but for NDT, I'm going to have to guess.
To me, the entire book felt like a beautiful snake hiding in shame behind layers and layers of cutesy fluff that just didn't need to be there. To be honest, I'm not convinced the book is actually about paladins fighting a magical war, and I'm tempted to believe this was all a big red herring set-up to show how two men could fall in love. I don't care which happens to be the case, I'm just undecided about the plot.
I wouldn't discourage anyone from giving this book at chance. I would, however, encourage Tiger Gray to stop hiding his/zir beauty.
At least, that's the blurb I would have preferred.
I'm usually a speed reader, but No Deadly Thing took me awhile longer than usual.
I loved the ideas. The mythology is well-researched, the characters well developed with emotional depth, crisp entertaining dialogue, and a magical universe that's explained logically. My reading enjoyment, however, was sporadic at best.
A lot of inconsistencies that contradicted the plot. Many formatting, spelling, and grammar errors. Some beautifully constructed sentences marred with many more awkward sentences. I found the book hard to read. Too many problems to list. I'm normally able to pinpoint the main problem, but for NDT, I'm going to have to guess.
To me, the entire book felt like a beautiful snake hiding in shame behind layers and layers of cutesy fluff that just didn't need to be there. To be honest, I'm not convinced the book is actually about paladins fighting a magical war, and I'm tempted to believe this was all a big red herring set-up to show how two men could fall in love. I don't care which happens to be the case, I'm just undecided about the plot.
I wouldn't discourage anyone from giving this book at chance. I would, however, encourage Tiger Gray to stop hiding his/zir beauty.
May 29, 2014
Goodreads win. Will read and review once received.
This was a wonderful read and a quick read. The style of writing just grabbeds a hold of you and makes you fly through the pages. The characters in this book are well thought out and all interesting. The book is fill with adventure, magic, action, and ,mystery. I really loved this book and would definitely recommned to other readers.
This was a wonderful read and a quick read. The style of writing just grabbeds a hold of you and makes you fly through the pages. The characters in this book are well thought out and all interesting. The book is fill with adventure, magic, action, and ,mystery. I really loved this book and would definitely recommned to other readers.
August 10, 2016
I won a free copy from the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway Program and think that it interesting. I would recommend it to everyone.
March 15, 2015
3.75/5
Ashrinn Pinecroft is an ex-Special Ops soldier who discovers that he has the ability to channel the Divine and swiftly finds himself heading a supernatural military order designed to combat the evil and corruption in the world.
I want to start by saying that I enjoyed this book, particularly the characterization, and that I would recommend this book to fans of Contemporary Fantasy and Indie Authors, as well as anyone who loves gut-wrenching tragedy in their stories.
However, I had a lot of difficulty reading the beginning of this story. The pacing of No Deadly Thing tends to stutter along and the reader is not given any strong guidance about how much time is passing, or what has happened in that downtime. Additionally, there is a wide milieu of PoV characters and it is not always clear why some of them are necessary (although by the end of the book this does become more apparent). I think that the unclear time jumps and strange pacing could have been easier to manage if I was not also trying to understand why so many characters were important to the story or vice versa. I struggled until about the halfway point in the book which was not long after I finally began to figure out that there were large time jumps. It was also at the exact same time as Luisidris’ revelation, which is the massive turning point in the book. Additionally, it is clear that the events of the book are having an effect on the entire country if not the entire world. Although there are very brief mentions of what is happening elsewhere in the country, I wish that it had been explored just a little more deeply.
From that halfway point forward I could not put the book down. While the first half of the book described Ashrinn and Malkai’s personal struggles with each other and their families, and dabbled into setting up the Storm—a supernatural Special Ops team—and the magical setting, the second half was almost non-stop action, massive desolation, and blood-burning character revelations. It reminded me of the duality of light versus dark that was central to the main plot. The only major issue I had with the pacing of the second half of the book is that the ending felt abrupt and I still felt like we were in the middle of the story—which may have been intentional if a sequel is being planned.
As I said above the characterization in this novel was fantastic, and my only wish was that it had been expanded upon even more. Ashrinn as the primary protagonist was an interesting and powerful choice. His character was symbolic of the story at large: presented to the public eye as a strong, unshakable military man, but in private suffered from incredible weakness when interacting with his wife. I thought that this, combined with Ashrinn’s bisexuality, had a lot to say about what sort of “masculinity” readers often expect of male protagonists. Ashrinn is not a good or a bad guy, but he is an interesting character that ultimately fights for the light. I hope that further novels from Gray continue to explore him.
Jericho was easily my favourite character in the entire book, and although she was one of many PoV characters, she was also one that I never felt was extraneous. I wish that Jericho had been introduced a little earlier in the story and I wish that we had seen more of her relationship with her family before the end of the book. Jericho is brave, struggling, powerful and afraid. She is portrayed as carrying a great curse and in those rare chapters that we get to step inside her head we are offered some insight into how great that curse is. By the end of the book, Jericho’s curse shifts into full-fledged tragedy and her response to it brought me to tears.
Sonth is the third character I’m going to go into depth on. While Sonth’s part in the story was integral—there are multiple times that we would be short a protagonist without her presence—she was written like a minor character. That said, her opening scene and role in the Storm are some of the most powerful parts of the story. Sonth is mysterious and terrifying and I wanted to know more about her. I wanted more insight into her relationship with Ashrinn. I wanted her to speak more. I wanted inside of her mind. I desperately hope that this character shows up in future books as well—and that she becomes a major character.
Overall, No Deadly Thing was exciting, action-packed, dark, beautiful and tragic. Sticking with the difficult pacing is more than worth it. As other critiques have noted, there are a few more spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors than I would have liked, but the story is by no means harder to read for it. I urge readers to purchase this book and give it a read. Afterward, help me to urge Gray to write a sequel!
Ashrinn Pinecroft is an ex-Special Ops soldier who discovers that he has the ability to channel the Divine and swiftly finds himself heading a supernatural military order designed to combat the evil and corruption in the world.
I want to start by saying that I enjoyed this book, particularly the characterization, and that I would recommend this book to fans of Contemporary Fantasy and Indie Authors, as well as anyone who loves gut-wrenching tragedy in their stories.
However, I had a lot of difficulty reading the beginning of this story. The pacing of No Deadly Thing tends to stutter along and the reader is not given any strong guidance about how much time is passing, or what has happened in that downtime. Additionally, there is a wide milieu of PoV characters and it is not always clear why some of them are necessary (although by the end of the book this does become more apparent). I think that the unclear time jumps and strange pacing could have been easier to manage if I was not also trying to understand why so many characters were important to the story or vice versa. I struggled until about the halfway point in the book which was not long after I finally began to figure out that there were large time jumps. It was also at the exact same time as Luisidris’ revelation, which is the massive turning point in the book. Additionally, it is clear that the events of the book are having an effect on the entire country if not the entire world. Although there are very brief mentions of what is happening elsewhere in the country, I wish that it had been explored just a little more deeply.
From that halfway point forward I could not put the book down. While the first half of the book described Ashrinn and Malkai’s personal struggles with each other and their families, and dabbled into setting up the Storm—a supernatural Special Ops team—and the magical setting, the second half was almost non-stop action, massive desolation, and blood-burning character revelations. It reminded me of the duality of light versus dark that was central to the main plot. The only major issue I had with the pacing of the second half of the book is that the ending felt abrupt and I still felt like we were in the middle of the story—which may have been intentional if a sequel is being planned.
As I said above the characterization in this novel was fantastic, and my only wish was that it had been expanded upon even more. Ashrinn as the primary protagonist was an interesting and powerful choice. His character was symbolic of the story at large: presented to the public eye as a strong, unshakable military man, but in private suffered from incredible weakness when interacting with his wife. I thought that this, combined with Ashrinn’s bisexuality, had a lot to say about what sort of “masculinity” readers often expect of male protagonists. Ashrinn is not a good or a bad guy, but he is an interesting character that ultimately fights for the light. I hope that further novels from Gray continue to explore him.
Jericho was easily my favourite character in the entire book, and although she was one of many PoV characters, she was also one that I never felt was extraneous. I wish that Jericho had been introduced a little earlier in the story and I wish that we had seen more of her relationship with her family before the end of the book. Jericho is brave, struggling, powerful and afraid. She is portrayed as carrying a great curse and in those rare chapters that we get to step inside her head we are offered some insight into how great that curse is. By the end of the book, Jericho’s curse shifts into full-fledged tragedy and her response to it brought me to tears.
Sonth is the third character I’m going to go into depth on. While Sonth’s part in the story was integral—there are multiple times that we would be short a protagonist without her presence—she was written like a minor character. That said, her opening scene and role in the Storm are some of the most powerful parts of the story. Sonth is mysterious and terrifying and I wanted to know more about her. I wanted more insight into her relationship with Ashrinn. I wanted her to speak more. I wanted inside of her mind. I desperately hope that this character shows up in future books as well—and that she becomes a major character.
Overall, No Deadly Thing was exciting, action-packed, dark, beautiful and tragic. Sticking with the difficult pacing is more than worth it. As other critiques have noted, there are a few more spelling, grammatical, and punctuation errors than I would have liked, but the story is by no means harder to read for it. I urge readers to purchase this book and give it a read. Afterward, help me to urge Gray to write a sequel!
August 14, 2013
There is just too much of this book to summarise – Ashrinn, an ex-special forces soldier returns, injured from Iraq and discovers a whole new magical world, powers he never imagined, his own personal connection to the divine and, above all, a purpose. A purpose to save not just his home, not even just the magical community – but the entire world. And in the process find his own personal family life shook to the core.
That is such a brief and pared down summary of the vastness that happens in this book
This book has some of the best characters you could hope to meet; even side characters have a sense of history and personality just waiting to be discovered. Even side characters banter off each other well. It has an amazing level of diversity with GBLT people, POC and disabled people. Each of these characters has the foundation of some truly excellent development to them. Their interactions promise lots of real connection and development.
The world is rich with many layers and powers and I long to delve into it an examine every corner. We have different organisations, a myriad of powers and forces for me to explore and discover.
The protagonist is someone I can really get behind, with poignant experiences, considerable competences and a lot of personal growth and revelations
The story promises to be exciting and action packed, with close emotional dramas, epic conflicts and world balancing feats that is interspaced by personal revelation and discovery
This book has every element of being awesome. This book has all the ingredients of being one of the best books I ever read. This book not only has every sign of being a 5 star book – but it has every sign of being one of those books I can’t stop reading, a series I follow with an almost fanatical religious devotion and adore to a level that is frankly creepy in its excessiveness.
I cannot understate the incredible core of this book. I cannot understate how utterly and unbelievably amazing this book could have been.
Could have been.
So much potential – but it was badly let down by the execution.
It’s very overwritten. There were huge sections of the book I was tempted to skim because they were overly descriptive, they gave background or side information that wasn’t useful, snippets of world insight that add too nothing and endless, endless pages of internal monologue that is repetitive and often goes nowhere except to reconfirm the same issues we have already seen over and over. I know Ashrinn’s issues, Liu’s issues, Mal’s issues – but we rejoin their headspace for long long chapters of little happening but following their thoughts as they cycle round the same issues again.
I think there’s a real attempt to truly establish these characters and the theme and atmosphere, but it loses me in a lot of really heavy text I could skip over.
Worse than being overwritten, this book felt like several books squished together:
Book 1: Ashrinn has his awakening moment, comes home and is introduced to the supernatural by Randolph, training in what that means, what he can do, what is out there and what Randolph wants to achieve with the Order
Book 2: Ashrinn, member of the Order starts to get things into shape, organising the order, fitting into his new life, some relationship issues with family and friends.
Book 3: Opening up to non-paladins/mages. Establishing and training Storm, getting the unit to work together, dealing with any issues between members and making them an effective, elite team.
Book 4: Battling the Cult, escalation, fighting the cult, cult avatar sets up, beginning of the war
Book 5: All out war, world in chaos, humanity learns about magical things – panic, death, government breaks down, human-only zones, anti-magic backlash
Read More
That is such a brief and pared down summary of the vastness that happens in this book
This book has some of the best characters you could hope to meet; even side characters have a sense of history and personality just waiting to be discovered. Even side characters banter off each other well. It has an amazing level of diversity with GBLT people, POC and disabled people. Each of these characters has the foundation of some truly excellent development to them. Their interactions promise lots of real connection and development.
The world is rich with many layers and powers and I long to delve into it an examine every corner. We have different organisations, a myriad of powers and forces for me to explore and discover.
The protagonist is someone I can really get behind, with poignant experiences, considerable competences and a lot of personal growth and revelations
The story promises to be exciting and action packed, with close emotional dramas, epic conflicts and world balancing feats that is interspaced by personal revelation and discovery
This book has every element of being awesome. This book has all the ingredients of being one of the best books I ever read. This book not only has every sign of being a 5 star book – but it has every sign of being one of those books I can’t stop reading, a series I follow with an almost fanatical religious devotion and adore to a level that is frankly creepy in its excessiveness.
I cannot understate the incredible core of this book. I cannot understate how utterly and unbelievably amazing this book could have been.
Could have been.
So much potential – but it was badly let down by the execution.
It’s very overwritten. There were huge sections of the book I was tempted to skim because they were overly descriptive, they gave background or side information that wasn’t useful, snippets of world insight that add too nothing and endless, endless pages of internal monologue that is repetitive and often goes nowhere except to reconfirm the same issues we have already seen over and over. I know Ashrinn’s issues, Liu’s issues, Mal’s issues – but we rejoin their headspace for long long chapters of little happening but following their thoughts as they cycle round the same issues again.
I think there’s a real attempt to truly establish these characters and the theme and atmosphere, but it loses me in a lot of really heavy text I could skip over.
Worse than being overwritten, this book felt like several books squished together:
Book 1: Ashrinn has his awakening moment, comes home and is introduced to the supernatural by Randolph, training in what that means, what he can do, what is out there and what Randolph wants to achieve with the Order
Book 2: Ashrinn, member of the Order starts to get things into shape, organising the order, fitting into his new life, some relationship issues with family and friends.
Book 3: Opening up to non-paladins/mages. Establishing and training Storm, getting the unit to work together, dealing with any issues between members and making them an effective, elite team.
Book 4: Battling the Cult, escalation, fighting the cult, cult avatar sets up, beginning of the war
Book 5: All out war, world in chaos, humanity learns about magical things – panic, death, government breaks down, human-only zones, anti-magic backlash
Read More
August 19, 2012
The novel was a quick read-- the prose style is taut and flows quickly, and the characters are intimately drawn. It weaves together action, magic, and mystery with the subtle inner conflicts of the characters. The mythology and religion which underpins the action is handled with nuance and detail which speaks to a high level of research, and the reader is allowed a window into the main character's cultural experience. Highly recommended for those who like their action-adventure taken up a level in sophistication.
August 7, 2014
I read this book after winning it in a Goodreads giveaway. Though I felt the book had an interesting concept, it didn't really feel like it came together. Seemed like the author kind of threw a lot of things on the wall to see what stuck, but most of it didn't. My biggest gripe though was large chunks of time were passed over leaving me feeling pretty disoriented and pulling me away from the story. Though the author tries to fill you in, going from calmness into major action, back to somewhat calmness is a little hard to adjust to.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews