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Take Down Request: BASTION/Blackstone III
A dead body is nothing unusual in Bastion. Two dead co-workers is strange. Three, and somebody out there has a grudge. There's a shadow darting in and out of the depths of Bastion, hunting down the private security company, Heartsteel, from the lowest thug up to the CEO himself. Unfortunately, with a history like Heartsteel's, there's too many possible suspects.
Blackstone, whether he likes it or not, is the perfect man to catch this killer. A woman he should have left for dead is back and has him assigned to help her protect the CEO. She knows better than anyone tracking down the powerful is one of Blackstone's talents. What he also knows is that one man's grudge is likely just somebody else's tool.
Take Down Request is a high stakes murder investigation that might bring Blackstone's past to light to all the wrong people.
Blackstone, whether he likes it or not, is the perfect man to catch this killer. A woman he should have left for dead is back and has him assigned to help her protect the CEO. She knows better than anyone tracking down the powerful is one of Blackstone's talents. What he also knows is that one man's grudge is likely just somebody else's tool.
Take Down Request is a high stakes murder investigation that might bring Blackstone's past to light to all the wrong people.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 14, 2024
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 27, 2024
Take Down Request is the third installment in James Krake's Blackstone cyberpunk series. In this tale, Elliott Blackstone is tracking Clyde, an assassin who is targeting the CEO of a large private security firm. Teaming up with the surgically augmented Serafina, will Elliott stop Clyde before the body count rises further?
Everything readers enjoyed from the previous installments—the well-realized world of the vast city of Bastion and the returning characters of Elliott, his wife, his partner Ram, and the powerful AI Eve who keeps an eye on everything—is present here. While this is a standalone story, there are enough references to prior events and settings that might confuse those who haven’t read the first two books, which are excellent and highly recommended.
One issue I had with this installment is that Elliott’s character development seems to have stalled. He risks becoming overshadowed by the antagonist. Clyde is a well-developed and compelling antagonist—a man pushed into villainy by dire yet entirely believable circumstances. In contrast, Elliott has yet to resolve the issues with his wife, Amara, and the introduction of Serafina is somewhat confusing, as their prior relationship and experiences are not entirely clear.
Additionally, while the city of Bastion remains vividly detailed, we’re familiar with it now. The brief glimpses of the outside world are tantalizing and leave the reader hungry for more exploration beyond the city.
That being said, Take Down Request is still a highly entertaining, fast-paced, and well-crafted cyberpunk thriller. Fans of the genre and the series will find plenty to enjoy here.
Everything readers enjoyed from the previous installments—the well-realized world of the vast city of Bastion and the returning characters of Elliott, his wife, his partner Ram, and the powerful AI Eve who keeps an eye on everything—is present here. While this is a standalone story, there are enough references to prior events and settings that might confuse those who haven’t read the first two books, which are excellent and highly recommended.
One issue I had with this installment is that Elliott’s character development seems to have stalled. He risks becoming overshadowed by the antagonist. Clyde is a well-developed and compelling antagonist—a man pushed into villainy by dire yet entirely believable circumstances. In contrast, Elliott has yet to resolve the issues with his wife, Amara, and the introduction of Serafina is somewhat confusing, as their prior relationship and experiences are not entirely clear.
Additionally, while the city of Bastion remains vividly detailed, we’re familiar with it now. The brief glimpses of the outside world are tantalizing and leave the reader hungry for more exploration beyond the city.
That being said, Take Down Request is still a highly entertaining, fast-paced, and well-crafted cyberpunk thriller. Fans of the genre and the series will find plenty to enjoy here.
Displaying 1 of 1 review