Draco

by Scott Newman

From a lifetime of suffering, came an untold strength...

Skylar Morgan has lived most of his life in pain and suffering. After tragically losing his mother at the age of 7, he was forced to become an outcast with few friends, an abusive father, and an unstable love life; all the while his home has fallen under the shadow of a twisted criminal empire. However, unbeknownst to Skylar, his suffering has awakened something deep within him... something that could either destroy the good-hearted person he has strived to be... or cause him to become the greatest beacon of hope for the people living in his now dark and corrupted home...

215 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2012

Reviews

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

For what it's worth it does a good job with pace, atmosphere, and characters. The main character is someone you certainly sympathize with especially after his two best friends are murdered. Whats more the villains are so disturbingingly evil and infectious that they make his heroic actions that much more heroic. I love how it also makes both references and echoes human history, particularly World War II. Additionally this isnt your everyday superhero tale either: 1. the hero playing two lives device is completely abandoned by having what would be his "secret identity" being declared dead to the rest of the world so the only identity he has is just his vigilante persona, and that works especially well with moments in the end 2. Because his former self is declared dead he does not have the luxary's of Bruce Wayne/Batman or any other kinda superhero for that matter so it provides new challenges for him to have to survive through that you typically dont see in those kinds of stories 3. He does not ALWAYS resort to violence to defeat his enemies, in one part because of the fear growing around his name he literally uses his mear presence to save one of his close friends from suffering a fate similar to his best friends. And lastly he is far from being the perfect hero, he is flawed, makes mistakes, struggles constantly to leave his former life dead, and the twist at the end really opens the door for new harsher challenges ahead as well.

As for what it lacks in, there are a few times where the author stumbles with the plot, a couple characters (particularly a police inspecter that appears twice)seem like they could have been developed more,and at times the love interest, minus her time in the ending, tends to be a little cliche. Lastly (and this really isnt a bad thing per say but it should be forwarned) there are times where the actions of the villains, though not very graphic, do push the boundries on how far they go with their evil deeds.

ALL IN ALL: This is a great read for anyone who loves heroes with deep rooted motivations and a dark atmosphere. Despite its few short comings, Draco remains a good and unique outlaw vigilante story that I would recommend to anyone.