At the birth of the Elemental Renaissance, an age in which inventors have learned to harness the four elements, Aleksandar Scott invents the“ Red Breath." When his invention falls into the hands of a deranged serial killer, the young inventor is pushed against the clock as he tries to outmaneuver the Industrial Revolution in hopes of stopping the inevitable.
Invitingly fresh in a world of their own, with twists and turns that will hold the attention of any reader, Timothy Lyon has brought a book with the potential of being the next top selling mystery novel! Ashes is a historical thriller about the World’s Fair that no one will be able to set down until they have turned the last page.
Timothy Lyon was an inspired author releasing his first novel, Ashes A Contrivance Novel, back in 2016.
After writing 30 novels as a ghostwriter, he decided it was time to remaster his own, and give the people the story they deserved.
Timothy Lyon Jr. grew up in Northwestern Pennsylvania, where he dedicated many hours to his craft of storytelling. He specializes in creating period pieces full of vivid imagery and rich characters that will remain with readers long after the last page turns.
When Timothy is not writing, he enjoys drinking tea, listening to ska music, and testing his hibachi skills.
'You see, you are appalling to many, and I am disgusted you would even consider yourself an inventor’
Pennsylvania author Timothy Ray Lyon Jr. earned a degree in Visual Effects and Motion Graphics at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and studied film, photography, motion graphics and visual effects. Soon the writing bug hit and he decided to step away from the VFX industry and turn his undivided attention to writing. Realizing the potential and low-cost of self-publishing a novel, he began what he believes will be his grand epic. The Contrivance series. Working on the first book of the series, Ashes, he continued writing over the course of the next year. He lives in Pittsburg.
Ashes, A Contrivance Novel begs definition of the theme of the series; contrivance is something that causes things to happen in a story in a way that does not seem natural or believable. Timothy takes this theme and in his first book molds it very well indeed. He is fleet of words, at times spending a bit too long on setting atmosphere, but that will condense with time. For instance within the prologue, before the story begins, he paints - ‘Almost beautiful and elegant, the interior must have been designed by someone with a considerable amount of skill, enough to be one of the greatest architects of their time. It was constructed with purpose, a tone, and a way that could be defined as art. Having the water flow through something so well-designed was a truly breathtaking sight. You would begin looking in awe, but then… awe would thrash to terror. The rust-tinted, silver pipes carried the water to the center of the room, fading from metal corrosion to human skin. The rusty couplings attaching them to the floor almost looked as if they infused themselves to a young man who sat pinned and connected to the middle of the room. The water pumped into his stripped-down body as he shook and shivered, bound to the chair. His personal prison. His water-logged mouth opened with no words, only the sound of a struggling gurgle. As his breath quivered, his green-lit eyes tensed so tight the human color faded, leaving them white and desolate. His bare feet on the carpet craved to be flat and flush, but contorted sideways as water repeatedly battered him from the inside.’
Committing to the book, we gain only a brief synopsis: ‘At the birth of the Elemental Renaissance, an age in which inventors have learned to harness the four elements, Aleksandar Scott invents the“ Breath of Life." When his invention falls into the hands of a deranged serial killer, the young inventor is pushed against the clock as he tries to outmaneuver the Industrial Revolution in hopes of stopping the inevitable.’ ASHES is a historical thriller about the World’s Fair, and that is only one aspect of this delicious mystery thriller. Timothy debuts with a strong start. The ideas are sound - polish will come.
As is often the case I received this book in exchange for a review. Also as usual I'll be completely honest because readers and authors both deserve that much at least.
The overarching concept here is that we're looking at a steampunk novel with a rather dark and ominous theme to it.
To the positive, I love the setting and the plot the author has chosen. If you look past the book's issues you can see a delightfully dark and entertaining plot unfolding.
Unfortunately, to the negative, the author's writing stumbles terribly. While the author has a great story his choice of words is contradictory and distracting. It really subtracts from the novel as a whole and leaves the reader struggling to stay focused on what he's really trying to say. A few examples:
p8: "Nathaniel raised his hand and scratched his beard stubble ... His beard was long enough to not be stubble..." -- is it stubble or not?
p38: "a lady, casual by glance, stood next to a pillar looking with intent" -- is she casual or is she intent? And I'm not sure what 'casual by glance' even means?? p38: "... steps as precise as her casual garments ..." -- precise and casual are near antonyms so it seems an odd comparison p38: "... each step nearly shattering the floor ..." -- shattered is a bizarre choice of words unless you're walking on a glass floor which the character is not
p60: " ... the whip extended with excellent craftsmanship..." -- Author is building a sense of mood or tension but then diverts rather oddly to talk about the craftmanship of the whip and that breaks the mental flow of the passage.
So in summary, it's a shame. It's like a cheese sandwich that's burned on one side. You know there's good stuff in there and you really want to love it but that one burned side is a distraction and you just can't get past it. Suggest a good sound editing to clean things up.
‘Ashes: A Contrivance Novel’ by Timothy Lyon is the beginning of author’s ‘The Contrivance Series’ history/thriller/mystery series. Based on its first installment, I am interested in which direction the author will take his story that manages to successfully combine several genres, succeeding to address different audiences.
The author introduces us to a world of not so distant past, at the time when Elemental Renaissance was born and the scientists were able to take control of four fundamental elements. Aleksandar Scott, young inventor, is going to make his idea real and the “Red Breath" is born, but his baby is going to fall into the wrong hands. The out of control serial killer will make Aleksandar life miserable while he tries to save himself and the world… Timothy Lyon managed to gradually introduce reader to the story, while the first pages are reserved for the definition of main protagonists – and he did great job.
‘Ashes: A Contrivance Novel’ with the various genre elements from its start succeeds to keep reader’s attention, delivering an exciting story, likeable and believable characters, put into well-conceived world. Therefore, Timothy Lyon’s novel can be recommended to fans of mystery, thriller and historical fiction who want to read innovative and imaginative read from the still unknown author.
It is worth mentioning that though this is a self-published title, it lacks all the common characteristics that usually accompany such editions additionally making both this novel and the author's future works recommended.
Therefore, if you not consider yourself impatient given a bit slower story development, ‘Ashes: A Contrivance Novel’ may pleasantly surprise as an appealing start of new series that manages to keep reader’s interest until the very last of its pages.
I was given a copy of this book by the author for the purpose of unbiased review, while all the presented information is based on my impressions.
Ashes grabbed ahold of me from the start and held on til the end. A true page turner. There were so many times I had to stop reading to tend to my infant, otherwise I could have seen myself finishing this book in one sitting! Looking for your winter read? This is it!
Really enjoyed this book. If you are into Steampunk or historical fiction you will especially like the story. Will definitely get the second installment of this one when it is available.