Shadows

Caulborn #3

by Nicholas Olivo

Four years ago, Caulborn agent Vincent Corinthos stopped a hellish ritual intended to transform Ulysses Pendleton into a creature of utter darkness. With Pendleton safely imprisoned in Ashgate Penitentiary, Vincent and the rest of the Caulborn figured the world was a little bit safer.

Until now. A catastrophic failure with the prison’s security systems sends Vincent and the rest of the Caulborn into Ashgate to try and prevent the inmates from escaping. They secure all but one. Pendleton.

Now, Vincent’s in a race against the clock to find Pendleton before he can finish the job he started four years ago, and smother Boston in shadows.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Fantasy

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 16, 2015

About the author

My childhood consisted of way too many video games, comic books and 80′s cartoons. Add in a healthy appetite for Tolkien and Stephen King, and the end result was a geek who had visions of someday writing his own novels.

It was Terry Brooks’ Wishsong of Shannara that really clinched it and got me excited about writing. But it wasn’t until years later, after reading Jim Butcher’s Storm Front, that I decided to take a crack at urban fantasy. After a month of Pepsi-and-Snickers-assisted brainstorming, Vincent Corinthos and the Caulborn were conceived. A year later I published the first Caulborn novel, Imperium.

I’ve lived my entire life in various New England states, and I’m fascinated by New England’s paranormal history. One thing I really enjoy is incorporating local paranormal events and urban legends into the books. Each Caulborn novel will include references to real-world supernatural occurrences, and explains how they fit into the Caulborn’s world.

I live with my wife and three children, and a shape-shifting cat who may or may not be be in human form at any given moment.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third book in this entertaining series by an author I met at Concarolinas. I’ve read three in a row so I’ll probably take a break and read something else but I’m sure I’ll come back to this series soon.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story line.

[Brandt Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much has changed from my earlier reviews. I like the world the author created but dislike the main character.

[Nathan Tullis · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received a free copy of this audio book for review via Audiobookreviewer.com*


I didn’t even hesitate when I was offered to review this book. The series has been a lot of fun to listen to. It combines a lot of my interests. Most of all is mythology, Mr. Olivo takes deities from several different mythos, mainly Greek, and works them into the present day. Being that I am a gigantic nerd and I share a love for many of the same things that the author references and writes about throughout, I knew I would be listening to this latest installment. This review may contain minor spoilers to the previous two novels.

Much like the previous installment, this novel take place very shortly after the last one; Megan is in the hospital and Herb is in a coma. On his way to help the necromancer with some of his newfound abilities, thanks to the kobolds that started worshiping him, Vinny is attacked by a teleporting paranormal. After the tough fight the Caulborn are alerted to an escape attempt at Ashgate penitentiary. They succeed in stopping all escapees save one, Ulysses Pendleton. A maniacal man who brings the mind of The Joker to the powerful and terrifying powers of Nightwielder from Brandon Sanderson’s Reckoners series. Now Vincent, Gearstripper, and the other Caulborn must find a way to stop Pendleton before he can carryout his benevolent plan.

This was a big step up from book two when it comes to plot and writing skill. All of the characters are given there own time to develop, which is a huge deal for me as a good character may very well save a story and will make a story. I was a little disappointed in the fact that there was almost no time for Megan, instead the author focuses on Kristen, a sort of mentor figure for Vincent. Another notable absence is one of my favorites characters in the series, Petra, who is barely even mentioned. I’m not concerned though, they’ll be back in the next round I’m sure. Besides, Pendleton is crazy, powerful, intelligent, and a devil I delighted in hating.

Ian McEuen did another great job with this one; great production and narration. McEuen’s voicing of Pendleton was fantastic, complete with a maniacal laugh and venom in his voice. As usual his other performances were as good as ever. He uses all unique and distinguishable voices, and has a great knack for adding nuances to each character.

This series has been fun and exciting since the start. This book was action packed from the beginning, and the development of the characters is amazing. There was another cliffhanger ending but I’ve grown used to them and know I will be getting the next installment anyway. Check out this series, it gets better with each book.

[Milan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good read and addittion to the series even if it mostly served as a set up for the futire books. Vincent annoyed me a bit in this one and acted a bit stupid but apparently there's some explanation for that. There were a lot of questions at the end of this book and I hope we get answers to most of them in the following novels.
This is an interesting series and an intriguing world and looking forward to reading more.