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The Reminiscent Exile #4
Lost Grace
Declan Hale is back! “It’s definitely our usual caper, Annie, which means death and demons and old gods. You still in?” Declan Hale, the Shadowless Arbiter, has spent the last year in Atlantis—and ten thousand years in the past—trying his best not to drink the Lost City dry. But his ancient enemies, the Everlasting, have seized control of a magical city on True Earth, and will use their awful power to launch an assault on the rest of the Story Thread. With enemies on all sides, Declan’s only hope rests in his immortal heart and a desperate plan cast across oceans of time. Whether he falls or whether he stands, the stakes have never been higher. Worst of all, he’s got to save the world sober.
- GenresUrban Fantasy
299 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 17, 2017
18 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Joe Ducie
19 books106 followersJoe Ducie (1987-) is a writer from Perth, Western Australia. By day, he charges a toll to cross a bridge he doesn’t own. Yet by night, in a haze of scotch-fuelled insanity, he works tirelessly on an array of stories both short and long. Joe possesses a fierce love of a smooth finish. Under no circumstances should you ask him just what that means.
Joe was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria in November 1987, and currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. He is primarily an author of urban fantasy and science fiction aimed at young adults. His current stories include Distant Star, Upon Crystal Shores, Red vs. Blue, and The Forgetful Library.
Joe attended Edith Cowan University and graduated in 2010 with a Degree of Counterterrorism, Security and Intelligence. He went back, the idiot, and completed post-graduate studies in Security Science in 2011. Joe has also studied Creative and Professional Writing at Curtin University.
When not talking about himself in the third person, Joe enjoys devouring books at an absurdly disgusting rate and sampling fine scotch.
Website: joeducie.net
Twitter: @joeducie
Facebook: /jducie
Joe was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria in November 1987, and currently resides in Perth, Western Australia. He is primarily an author of urban fantasy and science fiction aimed at young adults. His current stories include Distant Star, Upon Crystal Shores, Red vs. Blue, and The Forgetful Library.
Joe attended Edith Cowan University and graduated in 2010 with a Degree of Counterterrorism, Security and Intelligence. He went back, the idiot, and completed post-graduate studies in Security Science in 2011. Joe has also studied Creative and Professional Writing at Curtin University.
When not talking about himself in the third person, Joe enjoys devouring books at an absurdly disgusting rate and sampling fine scotch.
Website: joeducie.net
Twitter: @joeducie
Facebook: /jducie
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 16, 2017
Book 4
This is a pretty good series, been ages since the last one was out, I had pretty much forgotten about it until I saw a new one was out and shortly after jumping into it I was once again fully immersed in the world of Declan Hale the shadow less arbiter. It's fast paced full of action and has a few unexpected twists and turns. A very good series and would definitely recommend reading it.
This is a pretty good series, been ages since the last one was out, I had pretty much forgotten about it until I saw a new one was out and shortly after jumping into it I was once again fully immersed in the world of Declan Hale the shadow less arbiter. It's fast paced full of action and has a few unexpected twists and turns. A very good series and would definitely recommend reading it.
July 20, 2017
While I was really looking forward to reading this book, after having to wait almost 2 years, I was a little disappointed. Not to give out any spoilers but this book felt a little rushed, and had very little flair that the other books had prior. There were parts of the book that I wanted to be explored more, along with many questions that were left unanswered. Instead of the mysteries of the past being revealed. The reader gets nothing and has to trudged on and just accept that it was so.
September 20, 2017
Absolutely HATED the way it ended, and the more I read, the less I like Declan Hale. I'm not all that keen now to read Book 5. Sorry Joe. :(
February 17, 2018
In the fourth entry in the urban fantasy Reminiscent Exile series, Lost Grace, Joe Ducie upends his traditional narrative style and weaves the reader through, what is essentially, two interlocked novels. True to the nature of a series about universes spun out of fiction and books, one narrative is told as a story in the other: using a story-within-a-story formula that has been mishandled in other works, but ends up bringing fresh focus to Lost Grace.
While a part of me has always lamented how short these Reminiscent Exile books feel at times, each one, and especially this tale, are tightly-woven, consistently high quality, and stunningly well-choreographed. Joe executes his scenes with flair and an aesthetic eye, but most importantly, he does it with logical precision. It takes real talent to express the beginning, middle, and end of a fight in a manner that is accurate, accessible, and entertaining. In this, his style is reminiscent of Jim Butcher, with a high-octane slant of Lee Child.
Ducie moves his characters around like chess pieces on a board in this story, playing move against countermove, feints leading to ripostes, and culminating in an explosive (literally explosive) confrontation that is unexpectedly emotional and unexpected. Annie Brie, one of Ducie’s best developed characters, shows further growth. As we delve deeper into the mythos of the universe Joe created, Annie serves as our stand-in down the rabbit hole, and so she is just as deeply entrenched in the wonder and chaos of the absurd. And yes, this gets absurd, but always in the best ways.
While overall, this was a great read, given the title of the story, I had hoped to see more of a certain character whose interactions with the protagonist, while few, were probably the highlight of the early parts of the novel. It would have produced a smoother flow in the Atlantis story to have that fleshed out and extended. If Broken Quill had the best arc, this was hands-down Joe’s best climax. Fourth time’s the charm.
While a part of me has always lamented how short these Reminiscent Exile books feel at times, each one, and especially this tale, are tightly-woven, consistently high quality, and stunningly well-choreographed. Joe executes his scenes with flair and an aesthetic eye, but most importantly, he does it with logical precision. It takes real talent to express the beginning, middle, and end of a fight in a manner that is accurate, accessible, and entertaining. In this, his style is reminiscent of Jim Butcher, with a high-octane slant of Lee Child.
Ducie moves his characters around like chess pieces on a board in this story, playing move against countermove, feints leading to ripostes, and culminating in an explosive (literally explosive) confrontation that is unexpectedly emotional and unexpected. Annie Brie, one of Ducie’s best developed characters, shows further growth. As we delve deeper into the mythos of the universe Joe created, Annie serves as our stand-in down the rabbit hole, and so she is just as deeply entrenched in the wonder and chaos of the absurd. And yes, this gets absurd, but always in the best ways.
While overall, this was a great read, given the title of the story, I had hoped to see more of a certain character whose interactions with the protagonist, while few, were probably the highlight of the early parts of the novel. It would have produced a smoother flow in the Atlantis story to have that fleshed out and extended. If Broken Quill had the best arc, this was hands-down Joe’s best climax. Fourth time’s the charm.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews