Influx

Clandestine Daze #1

by Tim Marquitz

For Theodor Crane every day is a lie.

A doppelganger, Theo is trapped in the role of the man he murdered. Tasked with safeguarding the secrets of his homeland his loyalty is torn between his new life and his mission when an influx of militants stream to Earth. A pawn of both sides, he's given just days to bring the terrorists to heel. Failure means war, but success comes with its own consequences.

Either might see Theo dead.

Genres: Urban Fantasy

318 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2015

About the author

Tim Marquitz is the author of the Demon Squad series, The Enemy of My Enemy series (Kurtherian Gambit) along with Michael Anderle, the Blood War Trilogy, co-author of the Dead West series, as well as several standalone books, and numerous anthology appearances alongside the biggest names in fantasy and horror. Tim also collaborated on Memoirs of a MACHINE, the story of MMA pioneer John Machine Lober.

"Horror becomes art when it flows from the pen of Tim Marquitz." ~ Bobby D. Whitney - BookWenches

"Witty, sarcastic and hilarious." Michelle - Publishers Weekly

Reviews

[Maja (The Nocturnal Library) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Here are the three things that can lift my mood any day of the week: 1. bacon; 2. Nutella; 3. anti-heroes written by Tim Marquitz… and not necessarily in that order of importance. The very simple truth is that no one writes foul-mouthed underdogs better than Tim. First came Frank, the charming bastard, and now there’s Theo, a doppelganger and a hot mess with a moral compass that points every which way but north and a dry, self-deprecating, wicked sense of humor.

But as interesting as he sounds, the thing you need to know about Theodor Crane is that he’s been dead for months, and he really wasn’t that great before his unfortunate demise. In his place is actually Z, a doppelganger from Aellisar and a spy for the Aellisarian Intelligence. Z has only one mission – to prevent the war between his people and the few humans aware of their existence. For that purpose, he will deceive, steal and kill. Thanks to Marquitz’s excellent writing and even better imagination, this character, like those before him, comes alive on the very first pages and makes you cheer for him even while you berate yourself for feeling that way.

We aren’t new to Z’s charms – we’ve met him before in Eyes Deep, the prequel novella released last year. I knew to expect a very dark, extremely conflicted character, but the depth of his development still took me by surprise. Z is a special creature, feared even by his own people. He can shapeshift into anyone at all (by killing them first and eating small pieces of their eyeballs), which makes him a formidable enemy and an excellent infiltrator. But most unfortunately, Z has a conscience, no matter how weak it may be, and it keeps him awake at night. The longer he lives the life of Theodor Crane, the more difficult it is for him to bury his emotions. Getting attached is the stupidest thing he can do, and yet it’s almost impossible to avoid it.

The short interludes between chapters offer us glimpses into Z’s past that gradually turn him into a somewhat more sympathetic character. He may be a killer and the worst kind of thief, but his redeeming qualities definitely count for something. While the plot can seem a bit episodic at times, the moral dilemmas and self-justifications more than make up for it. What’s more, the action scenes are graphic and very detailed, each one done with a movie-like quality. For someone who gets confused during action scenes more often than not, these were a true delight.

At this point, after several years of being his very enthusiastic fan, I can only say that Marquitz is consistently excellent. He has one of the strongest, clearest voices in genre fiction and his excellent sense of pacing serves to strengthen his narrative. Fans of urban fantasy, this is one you absolutely do not want to miss. I’d highly recommend starting with Eyes Deep, but even if you jump right into this one, you’ll soon find yourself completely immersed into Z’s story.

[Kitty G Books]

DNF-ed this one at 35% as I could tell that it just wasn't a book for me. It follows a person trapped inside of another person's body and they are living the life of this other person as they try to spy on the people he works for. It's one of the #SPFBO books and I wanted to give each of them a fair shot and try, but I have to admit that the premise of this book didn't really fit with what I enjoy reading. This feels a bit gritty, noir and thriller-ish. That's not by any means a bad thing, it's just that I don't really enjoy those tropes and so this kind of read would have had to be pretty stellar to get me to fall in love with it.

The writing of this one seemed fine, no blaring errors or anything I was put off by. The story itself was also fairly fast paced and easy to get through. Personally I just knew after 35% that this wasn't a story I would enjoy and I felt it more prudent to not rate it and leave it up to others who enjoy the genre more to decide what they think. It would probably have only got around 2*s from me if I finished it, but as it stands I didn't.

[Tyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year I reviewed the novella, Eyes Deep, featuring a new anti-hero who is a doppelgänger, someone who can assume the identity of others, named Theodor Crane. Marquitz has decided to turn his new character into a series and it all begins here with Influx.

I still don't know what to make of our hero, he is definitely doing his best to do good with his "adopted" family and keep them safe but he is also fighting a convert war that his side appears to be losing. Theodor has a lot on his plate and it is a plate that we still haven't figured out just what is on it and that makes for a frustrating read. I like not knowing everything when I read a book and being kept in the dark should keep me on my toes as I slowly uncover everything about the character and their motivations; however, with Theo, I just can't seem to grasp anything and that leads to annoyance.

Theo works for a shadowy government agency that isn't from the human world, but one that deals with the supernatural. In Influx we have Theo's agency up against a sect of equally capable agents, which are playing a game of cat and mouse. As the book comes to a close I still haven't the foggiest idea just what his organization or their rival is doing, or what the end game is. While I get the gist of some things, there are still many unanswered questions, which leads to a difficult read.

Influx only hints at things to come and while the deck is definitely stacked against Theo and his bureau, I can't say for certain if this is a good thing or if it could spell disaster for his kind and humans as the reader is still very much in the dark at this point in the game. It leaves me irritable and I am sure I am not alone. I like the character enough to continue with the series and the build up of mystery has my interest peaked but I want some answers in future installments and soon as it is not great to leave your readers in a state of uncertainty. I have enjoyed everything Marquitz has seen fit to print and I have faith that he will turn this new series around and make it just as enjoyable as everything else he has done, but there are a few kinks to be worked out and I know I just need to give him time to do it. Authors need to take risks and I am happy to see Marquitz doing exactly that in order for him to become a stronger writer so I look forward to the next book in the series.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grabbed this book first because the guy on the cover is hot…yes, I can be swayed by a pretty face. After reading the blurb I thought it sounded pretty badass. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of the story and was playing catch up to figure out the world building and flash backs of Theo's (Zentikuli "Z" is his Ael name) life. That kind of slowed me down a bit, but once I hit the midway mark I was off and running and finished book thinking… “Is it over already!?” This story is full of action, betrayal, double agents, and a conspiracy that needs exposing. And it is bloody violent. Considering our two main characters are usually sent in to “clean” things up, this makes sense.

I really like the main protagonist. Z isn't a nice guy. He can shift into anyone and take over their life, including their memories. How he does this isn't very pretty. He does morally questionable things to get his assignment done. Due to circumstance he has no choice, but he does it well. His current assignment requires him to take over Theo's life (after murdering him), which includes a wife and new baby. He's getting to live a life he has no business wanting. His handler, Jace, is one tough women who also has no problem doing whatever it takes to get a job done. They both do morally questionable things to get a job done. Z is from another dimension called Aellisar and lives in our dimension spying on humans and the Aels living there and making sure no one uses the gate (portal) to cross dimensions without permission. His is a race of were-creature and vampires. The first one we meet is a Ram shifter, but he’s a bad guy.

This was a dark mix of science fiction, thriller and snarky humor. I will be looking for the next in the series.

“How about we hold off on the gunslinger bullshit for a minute,” I said raising a pacifying hand. “This doesn’t have to end with all of you dead.” Well, it kind of did but that didn’t mean I couldn’t play with my food a bit first.

…feral growls spilling loose from the vampires I’d coerced Rutan into lending me for the day. It took some doing, let me tell you.

Bloodsucker surprise parties are expensive.

They’re also a little more dramatic than I factored in … “Seriously?” Jace would laugh her ass off if she learned I’d died because my vampire backup plan paused to non-verbally monologue. It was like watching a low budget action movie.

4 “Quay traveling” Sheep
http://www.ismellsheep.com/2015/09/bo...

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Clandestine Daze series by Tim Marquitz is a set of gritty urban fantasy espionage stories depicting a doppleganger named Z who has temporarily adopted the persona of a Texas security consultant in order to spy on his employers. The opening scene of the novella, Eyes Deep, was him killing the innocent man and eating one of his eyeballs to assume his form.

Needless to say, this is not your typical hero.

I was intrigued by Eyes Deep's premise, so much so that I decided to check out the full-blown novel which followed up on its events. While not opening with anything as shocking as the original novella, we get to see just just how dangerous Z even faced with his fellow monsters. The fights are visceral and uncompromising with Clandestine Daze possibly the first grimdark urban fantasy series I've read (not counting Hellblazer).

The rest of the novel is a collection of numerous spy vs. spy shenanigans as Z struggles to maintain his identity as an agent for the mysterious A.I. organization while being tempted by the prospects of a normal life (which he stole). One of the more intriguing elements is the fact Z is an unquestionably "bad" man who is doing very bad things in the service of a dubious cause. He possesses a remnant of humanity, however, despite never being human in the first place. Z wishes very much to do the right thing but, unlike so many other antiheroes, is willing to do genuine evil to serve the cause he thinks of as the greater good.

Even if we, the audience, may disagree.

The series' premise is Z's employers represent the faction of the Aellisars (fairies, basically), who don't want war with humanity. It falls to Z to make sure their political opponents are thwarted and the tenuous peace between humanity and the Aellisar is preserved. Likewise, Z must make sure humanity doesn't gain the technology to identify the Aellisar amongst them. You know, despite the fact they include vampires and other predatory monsters.

This moral ambiguity is both the series' strength and biggest flaw. Its hard to root for a protagonist who is actively working to suppress humanity's ability to fight back against monsters and is fooling an innocent family into believing he's the person he murdered. In TVtropes.org terms, Z has crossed the Moral Event Horizon and believes his actions are irredeemable. He attempts to do small things to make up for these actions but the genius of the novel is both Z as well as the reader know this is too-little-too late.

For example: Z refuses to sleep with the wife of the man he's murdered and is impersonating, which doesn't help that the man is still exist. The rule he's established for himself keeps him from becoming a rapist but doesn't do anything to redeem the other terrible things he does for a dubious goal. Z is deeply indebted to his employers both emotionally as well as politically, facts which get expounded on in this novel, which means that eventually more orders to do the unforgivable are going come down to the pipeline.

Something Z dreads as he doesn't have much left to sacrifice.

Given the protagonist is almost completely unsympathetic, you'd think this would be a deal-breaker but I like the web of rationalizations and self-justifications Z keeps trying to feed himself. I also think the author is building up for a big moment where they all come tumbling down. The moment where he decides to abandon his Z persona entirely and become Theodor's wife's husband, with all the horror that implies, because it is a better existence than his current one or when she discovers what monster she's been sleeping beside. I really wish we'd seen that this time around. I wanted things to come to ahead in Influx and, sadly, it's still set up for that moment coming next book.

I'm terrible at patience.

Another area I think the novel could do better in is to quit teasing the reader with the sex. The genre is squarely fantastic Noir where everyone is one manner of a scumbag or another but the characters remain ever surprisingly prudish. Z can't sleep with his beautiful femme fatale partner Jace any more than he can sleep with his wife, despite numerous moments where I think it would have made the story more intense. Indeed, he keeps himself remarkably monkish and focuses entirely on the mission which serves to make him less human. If a monster he must be, at least be a monster who has fun.

Anywho, despite this, the novel is full of outstanding writing moments. Tim Marquitz weaves a complex and entertaining yarn with various factions, double-crosses, triple crosses, and red herrings. Despite the fact it's a book about modernized fairy kingdoms versus the American government, the spywork feels authentic. There's also a lot of black humor I loved like Jace sexually teasing poor Z when he's forced to assume a female form.

The action is a big part of the books appeal as Tim Marquitz is one of my favorite writers of low-level fight scenes. Z may end up fighting vampires, elves, werewolves, coyote-people, Nunnehi, and more but Tim always manages to keep the scenes grounded. For a man who doesn't possess anything resembling superpowers, Z is very-very good at killing. This, unlike his murder of his current identity, doesn't fill Z with any guilt and is almost a release for him.

In conclusion, I recommend this book but not as a starter to the series. I strongly encourage newcomers to pick up the original Eyes Deep and read it in conjunction with Influx. The two books really should be released as one edition given they flow from one to another. Despite this, for black on black morality urban fantasy spy work, you could do a lot worse.

9/10

[Seregil of Rhiminee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published at Risingshadow.

Influx is the first full-length novel in the Clandestine Daze series. (The author has previously written a novella, Eyes Deep, which is set in the Clandestine Daze universe. Influx features the same protagonist as Eyes Deep.)

I don't normally read much urban fantasy, because most contemporary urban fantasy novels tend to be of low quality and are not worth reading, but Tim Marquitz is one of the few authors whose novels I've enjoyed reading. His novels are much fresher and grittier than many other similar kind of novels. Influx is a good example of his ability to write interesting urban fantasy with gritty elements.

Influx can be categorised as urban fantasy, but it's actually a combination of urban fantasy and spy fiction. Urban fantasy spy fiction is an interesting sub-genre of speculative fiction, because it gives authors an opportunity to use elements from two totally different genres.

Influx is a story about a doppelgänger from Aellisar, Z, who has taken the body and appearance of Theodor Crane after killing him. He's an infiltrator, a murderer and a spy for the Aellisar Intelligence. His mission is to prevent the war between the Aels and humans... This is the beginning of a fast-paced story. I won't write more about the story, but I'll mention that it's entertaining.

When I began to read this novel, I quickly found myself enjoying it, because the story moved fast forward and the happenings were interesting. I admit that I had a few reservations about the quality of the story, but it turned out to be a good and fluently written story with emphasis on fast-paced entertainment. It was perfect reading for a lazy summer day.

Z is an interesting protagonist, because he's a doppelgänger who has taken the appearance of Theodor Crane. Because Z looks like Theodor and lives his life, he has become a husband and a father, and also a head of corporate security for Drake Advanced Technologies. The author writes well about Z's life, his "adopted" family and his work.

What makes Z an especially interesting protaginist is that he can transform into different persons when he eats pieces of their eyeballs. The conversion to another person is difficult and causes pain for Z, because his body has to change into a new form. The author describes the change in an excellent way by writing about what Z feels during the change and what happens to his body.

The author has added a bit of black humour to his story, which is nice. I've always enjoyed reading stories that have black humour in them, because it adds an interesting atmosphere to them (in capable hands, black humour is an excellent tool that can be used to make the story more entertaining).

One of the best things about Influx is that it's different from other similar urban fantasy novels. It's a refreshingly original novel that offers good entertainment to readers who love the grittier side of urban fantasy. The author's sharp writing style and sense of noir makes it an entertaining reading experience.

Because Influx is the first part of the Clandestine Daze series, it serves as an introduction to the series and creates a basis for future happenings. It'll be interestesting to see what happens in the next novel, because this novel was a fast and fun read.

I'm sure that fans of Tim Marquitz will find this novel interesting and will enjoy it. It will also appeal to newcomers who haven't read any of the author's novels yet, because it's a fast-paced and easily accessible novel with gritty elements.

Good and fast-paced urban fantasy entertainment!

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot went down in this one, so I'm just going to hit a few random points and hopefully it'll be enough to convince more people to read this one.

In the prequel, Eyes Deep, the story is mostly contained to Z's job on Earth. In Influx, while still focused on his Earth mission, you get a lot of insight into the Aellisar world: different provinces, leaders, races (the races are akin to those of the TV show "Grimm," but bigger and badder and way cooler). You also get some more in-depth looks at the changing process Z undergoes when ingesting his not-so-favorite morsels.

Marquitz writes kick-ass fight scenes that ensure your adrenaline doesn't let up until his character's does. He also does a great job of bringing Z down to a human level during his stay with Theo's (the individual whose identity he has taken on) family, and every once in a while that bleeds through to his regular life. That really helps the reader relate to an alien character I think.

There's a couple characters I really enjoyed, from the concept through to their actions. My favorite probably being Skitz, an Ael who has infused his body with various mechanical parts, essentially transforming himself into an organic computer. I kind of pictured a more humanized version of a Tech-Priest from WH40k (that's just in my head, nothing official).

Something else I enjoyed were the few 'Interlude' chapters, which served as flashbacks, throughout the story. I could have done with more of those actually. I always love backstory.

Alien espionage, eye-eating doppelganger, vamps, were-creatures, alien world connected to Earth through rift-like portals, awesome fight scenes. If any of that sounds good to you, pick this one up.

[Bookwyrm Speaks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was actually a beta reader for this title, so I saw it before anyone else. That being said, I believe in honest reviews no matter what, so here goes. Plot and pacing were solid. I loved the conflict within AI, with the Council trying to hinder them. Z's struggle to deal with his mission while not taking advantage of Theo's life was excellent, really deepened Z's character, as did the flashback sequences. The tension between Z and Jace was excellent too, really kept me wondering, as it switched from sexual tension to homicidal tension and back. The plot with the Umbra and the betrayals was excellent. Explaining the need to eat the sliver of eye to refresh the identity was cool too, since it gave us more of a peek at Z's abilities and weaknesses. The pacing was great, never seeming to lag at all, without feeling rushed.. New characters, such as Skitz, Garet, Vitor and Gemmel, as well as the Masons, were good additions to story, and filled out the other characters nicely. I like the way you made Jace vulnerable at the end before the meeting with Vitor. Really helped round her character out to show another side of her.

[Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first full length dark noir, detective come cross dimensional story from Tim and it certainly doesn't disappoint. Picking up from the novella we get more of an insight into the character who can take on the memory and form of anyone who's eyeball he consumes - yeah I know that's gross its OK he thinks it gross as well. Theo the man he was ordered to murder and take the shape of is the nominal main character and its his family and life that you can see Tim shaping the longer story arc around. Wife, kids but its not really Theo the doppelganger is conflicted about how to handle it all and Theos memory makes it all too real. It will be interesting to see where Tim goes with this.
Theo however is really a cross dimensional agent of the AI from a dimension called Aellisar who is responsible for protecting the fragile Aellisar/Human balance.
I like the fact that Tim has made all those monsters the vampires, were-beasts etc of human nightmare be cross dimensional beings who can adopt human form to blend in. The vampires have pretty much moved here they like it that much!
Z as Theo is referred to as his real name is a good interesting central character and while its somewhat lazy to compare him to Trig in the Demon Squad novels they definitely share a devil may care attitude and gallows humour.
This actually has a lot of Spy v spy type action in the main story and you quickly get pulled along as Theo and Jace(his handler) are ordered to stop a certain factions actions that could disrupt the delicate balance, with the sort of twists and turns you would expect from a spy story but with added were-beasts and vampires and Z's ability to change form to get the job done, its like face-off but with full body changes, Z even becomes a goth girl for one particularly amusing part of the story.
As you would expect from Tim the pace is good and there are more than a few jokes along the way.