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Ace Grant, Demon Slayer #2
Plea Bargain
Ace has a plan: Surrender himself to a soul-eating demon so he can get close enough to strike.
He didn’t say it was a good plan. But when you’ve got terrible luck, sometimes the best course of action is to get ahead of it. Do the time. Accept the sentence.
But never, ever accept the deal.
Ace’s plea bargain is a deal with the devil — an actual demon by the name of Mordecai Sunday. Mordecai and his corrupt forces plan to bring about the end of the world, one imprisoned soul at a time. Ace? He just wants his world to stop spinning out of control so he can go back home.
He’ll surrender himself to be judged for a crime he didn’t commit. With death already around the corner, he’s got nothing to lose. But when he’s transferred to Mordecai’s prisoner reform program, he sees just how near the end really is.
Now he’ll have to choose sides in a losing battle of magic and blood. Whoever he picks, whether it be his ghostly mentor’s tribe of tortured spirits, or his own ancestral power struggling to reemerge, he’s bound to make new enemies.
End of the world? It’s whatever. Ace was born in the trenches. He’ll put them all back in the grave if that’s what it takes to see his son again. And if the gods themselves intervene? He’ll dig a grave for them, too…
He didn’t say it was a good plan. But when you’ve got terrible luck, sometimes the best course of action is to get ahead of it. Do the time. Accept the sentence.
But never, ever accept the deal.
Ace’s plea bargain is a deal with the devil — an actual demon by the name of Mordecai Sunday. Mordecai and his corrupt forces plan to bring about the end of the world, one imprisoned soul at a time. Ace? He just wants his world to stop spinning out of control so he can go back home.
He’ll surrender himself to be judged for a crime he didn’t commit. With death already around the corner, he’s got nothing to lose. But when he’s transferred to Mordecai’s prisoner reform program, he sees just how near the end really is.
Now he’ll have to choose sides in a losing battle of magic and blood. Whoever he picks, whether it be his ghostly mentor’s tribe of tortured spirits, or his own ancestral power struggling to reemerge, he’s bound to make new enemies.
End of the world? It’s whatever. Ace was born in the trenches. He’ll put them all back in the grave if that’s what it takes to see his son again. And if the gods themselves intervene? He’ll dig a grave for them, too…
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 24, 2019
1 person is currently reading
1 person want to read
About the author
Russ Linton
31 books91 followersDanger, depth, and discovery. I'm an independent fiction author and vagabond travelling the US looking for adventure. As an author, I've dabbled in horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Even landed a small role with a Hollywood studio along the way.
But as a former government agent, I kept running across books about former government agents wandering the country in pursuit of justice.
I decided not to be a cliché.
Then, someone stole my Jeep. And I just *had* to get it back....
New Vigilante Justice series incoming 2023. Stay tuned!
Sign up for his mailing list here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...
You can also find Russ online at:
http://www.russlinton.com
http://www.facebook.com/RussLinton
But as a former government agent, I kept running across books about former government agents wandering the country in pursuit of justice.
I decided not to be a cliché.
Then, someone stole my Jeep. And I just *had* to get it back....
New Vigilante Justice series incoming 2023. Stay tuned!
Sign up for his mailing list here: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webfor...
You can also find Russ online at:
http://www.russlinton.com
http://www.facebook.com/RussLinton
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 5, 2019
I didn't like it as much as the first book, but they have been because of the setting - a private prison for most of the action.
November 7, 2019
5 stars. This is a no-doubter. Even at the pre-release, ARC stage, I can assure you that this is Russ Linton's best written book so far in his young career. Friends and fans, pre-order this book NOW!
Whatever Linton's process included or entailed for this second chapter in the "Ace Grant, Demon Slayer" series, the actual prose was on a level beyond what I've seen in his work to-date. I mean, I wouldn't know a metaphor from a simile if it bit me on the bottom ... but whatever they're called, there were repeated examples of very quotable passages throughout this book and several times I found myself literally uttering out loud 'wow!'! Add to that, there are several parts from book 1 - even people or instances we might have overlooked, mind you - that come into SIGNIFICANT play in this tale. Loose threads that you may not have noticed much at all will threaten to unravel the entire tapestry and... oh heck, I'm not the metaphor writer here, but you'll see!
And I'll say this as well: when I started the book and thought 'oh man, Ace is gonna be in prison right up to the end', I had my doubts as to whether or not it'd work. We were 'out in the open' in book 1, in the swampy and humid coastal back-waters of an area I'm all too familiar with. To change from that setting to being closed into what turns out to be something straight out of 'Temple of Doom' is not easy. Getting a 'prison book' well-framed in the context of an on-going series is a challenge - the only one I've read that fits such a criteria is the one in David Wellington's "Laura Caxton" great vampire series that worked fairly well - but I think Linton absolutely nails it. Sure, there are some bits that could have/should have been explored in more depth (like beating the crud out of baddies... oh man, that bus scene...) but in the end, I wouldn't change the story-line's flow at all. I can also say that if I weren't helping with the pre-release process (strictly as a volunteer and a huge fan), I would have TRIED to read this in one sitting.
As with Book 1, Linton has continued to mix and match mythologies from around the world with a deft touch. I mean, Native American influences, Aztecs, Old Country, even tie-ins that at first seem to be from the Aryan Nation (they're not) are in there! It just smacks you in the face and says 'magic is real, it is everywhere and it is comin' to get you!' The weight of what this all means for Ace - and the world - becomes both more clear and yet at the same time more mysterious, too! I suspect this is just the start of a wild roller-coaster ride for readers, so hold on tight!
And one thing Book 2 has that we don't get enough of in Book 1 is just the absolutely most delectably delicious villains that I've seen since Joe Hill's "NOS4A2"! Mordecai Sunday's evangelistic veil of true evil (perhaps redundant?) is peeled back ... plus this time along for the ride is Tina (no spoilers), who along with everyone else that's locked up in there will have you having nightmares for quite a while! Don't forget the rats. Or the demons! Wowzers! Seriously, this is just a few disembowelments away from being a wonderful horror tale that will still satisfy and thrill fantasy readers of all ilk!
The only tiny 'issue' I have - and I don't even think it's an issue because it's part of the journey Linton is taking us on - is that Ace is still finding his 'voice'. Yes, the love of his family and friends drives him and yes, the desire to not die from cancer pushes him on. But as he struggles to find out what he can take - and he gets the ever-lovin' scheisse kicked out of him here - and what he can then give back is still in flux. Is he a kid that grew up trying to survive the streets of Baltimore... or is he potentially the Saviour of all reality? We'll see. But with a cast of old friends and new, I can't wait to see what's in store for Book 3!!
Whatever Linton's process included or entailed for this second chapter in the "Ace Grant, Demon Slayer" series, the actual prose was on a level beyond what I've seen in his work to-date. I mean, I wouldn't know a metaphor from a simile if it bit me on the bottom ... but whatever they're called, there were repeated examples of very quotable passages throughout this book and several times I found myself literally uttering out loud 'wow!'! Add to that, there are several parts from book 1 - even people or instances we might have overlooked, mind you - that come into SIGNIFICANT play in this tale. Loose threads that you may not have noticed much at all will threaten to unravel the entire tapestry and... oh heck, I'm not the metaphor writer here, but you'll see!
And I'll say this as well: when I started the book and thought 'oh man, Ace is gonna be in prison right up to the end', I had my doubts as to whether or not it'd work. We were 'out in the open' in book 1, in the swampy and humid coastal back-waters of an area I'm all too familiar with. To change from that setting to being closed into what turns out to be something straight out of 'Temple of Doom' is not easy. Getting a 'prison book' well-framed in the context of an on-going series is a challenge - the only one I've read that fits such a criteria is the one in David Wellington's "Laura Caxton" great vampire series that worked fairly well - but I think Linton absolutely nails it. Sure, there are some bits that could have/should have been explored in more depth (like beating the crud out of baddies... oh man, that bus scene...) but in the end, I wouldn't change the story-line's flow at all. I can also say that if I weren't helping with the pre-release process (strictly as a volunteer and a huge fan), I would have TRIED to read this in one sitting.
As with Book 1, Linton has continued to mix and match mythologies from around the world with a deft touch. I mean, Native American influences, Aztecs, Old Country, even tie-ins that at first seem to be from the Aryan Nation (they're not) are in there! It just smacks you in the face and says 'magic is real, it is everywhere and it is comin' to get you!' The weight of what this all means for Ace - and the world - becomes both more clear and yet at the same time more mysterious, too! I suspect this is just the start of a wild roller-coaster ride for readers, so hold on tight!
And one thing Book 2 has that we don't get enough of in Book 1 is just the absolutely most delectably delicious villains that I've seen since Joe Hill's "NOS4A2"! Mordecai Sunday's evangelistic veil of true evil (perhaps redundant?) is peeled back ... plus this time along for the ride is Tina (no spoilers), who along with everyone else that's locked up in there will have you having nightmares for quite a while! Don't forget the rats. Or the demons! Wowzers! Seriously, this is just a few disembowelments away from being a wonderful horror tale that will still satisfy and thrill fantasy readers of all ilk!
The only tiny 'issue' I have - and I don't even think it's an issue because it's part of the journey Linton is taking us on - is that Ace is still finding his 'voice'. Yes, the love of his family and friends drives him and yes, the desire to not die from cancer pushes him on. But as he struggles to find out what he can take - and he gets the ever-lovin' scheisse kicked out of him here - and what he can then give back is still in flux. Is he a kid that grew up trying to survive the streets of Baltimore... or is he potentially the Saviour of all reality? We'll see. But with a cast of old friends and new, I can't wait to see what's in store for Book 3!!
November 9, 2019
Well this was an eye-opener and no mistake !!
You won't want to put this down until you've
read the last page.
Bubonic rejoins Ace near the end, but that's all
I'll spill.
Enjoy !!
Phyllis S.
You won't want to put this down until you've
read the last page.
Bubonic rejoins Ace near the end, but that's all
I'll spill.
Enjoy !!
Phyllis S.
December 2, 2019
Waiting patiently..
Thoroughly captivating. I love this character more and more, each book I read. Please continue this saga as soon as possible!!
Thoroughly captivating. I love this character more and more, each book I read. Please continue this saga as soon as possible!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews