Truly Outstanding
Imagine “Die Hard” (all of them) blended with “Golden Eye”, “The Hobbit”, Swordfish “, and quite possibly “Peter Rabbit”, and you begin to get an idea of how fascinating this series is.
There are just so many excellent elements of awesomeness in these books that it’s hard to describe them, but hey: that’s what a review is mostly for, right?
Ok, the easy basic stuff: Editing- A+. I don’t recall seeing a single type-oh or textual gaff. Add in that the book is lengthy (two thumbs up) and that structured paragraphs and different font effects exist throughout, I’d say that was a significant win.
Next, GameLit stats: Double-A+. (Yeah, I know it’s not really a thing, but it’s my review, and the rating is deserved, so screw it.) Now, I enjoy seeing the stat and skill breakdowns as much as any reader if the genre, but there is a polite limit on how often you can present the information before the ol’ signal to noise ratio plays hell with your enjoyment of the story. Our author side-steps (obviates) the entire issue by blatantly placing the stat pages in their own chapters. Freaking genius. They aren’t toned down - in fact they’ve got huge spotlights on them - but they’re done in an incredibly classy way that lets you read or ignore them as desired. Sometimes you dig through them for better clarity, and sometimes the rush of the action pulls you right into the next chapter, so that you can see what happens next in the plot without delay. Awesome. What is also very awesome about this design is that you can go back to these chapters and read them individually to perceive just the specific skill and stat changes as the story progresses. That is, you can read the stats as a story in itself. (The game design people just started fanning themselves.) In addition to that, this information is done with professionally formatted TEXT, and NO GRAPHICAL FORMATTING. No lines. No boxes. No colors. No pictures. Just sweet sweet TEXT, with capitalization, some bold words, and some italicized words. Guess how well that displays in whatever the hell you’re reading it on? It displays AWESOME, that’s how. (Now I’m fanning myself.) Yeah: pet peeve. Both books thus far have done this, and I love it. I beg other authors to adopt the practice.
Characters: A+ again. The side characters alone are full, rich, talented, unique, and as introspective as a “WB” channel superhero, but in a good way. In fact, we briefly POV on them from time to time to make sure we understand what they’re thinking, and why. This helps greatly in making sure that the reasons for their actions don’t fall by the wayside. Note too that these moments are indeed brief: they don’t run for pages or chapters. The MC is the MC.
Speaking of which. Rob is a lovable, affable, Everyman, who (repeatedly) proves that he is a hero, but he still doesn’t quite see it In the whole. Book #1 was mostly spent as a pariah - in an alien environment away from everyone he knows - which is something no one can easily handle. Add to that a willingness to almost literally sacrifice himself to save others, and you have someone amazing and vulnerable. After that things start to get weird, because the world itself seems to be against him (no, really), and when he has conversations with himself, sometimes someone else answers. Then things really start to get weird, after which he dies, but gets better. In book two events force him into doubling (and tripling) down on all of this behavior as he helps shepherd the village to safety. Wherever and whatever that means. Things continue to get weirder, which brings us to…
The world: A++. The story takes place in a world that is nowhere near idyllic, but maybe could be. A genocidal world war is fresh on everyone’s mind, and our MC Rob is the face of that enemy. All characters in the world have some issues thanks to that war, so naturally he sparks drama wherever he goes: it’s a great plot gimmick that is deftly done here. The thing I really like about this though is that it is not completely bleak, or unduly dark. People try to live land laugh at times: sometimes it works. The world leaders have their own issues and motivations too. It’s just dark and difficult enough to keep us aghast, but not so much that the story is a horror. It remains an adventure story, although one that has plenty of laughs, but stays in the trenches. That bit is contained within…
The Plot: A+ The war eight years ago.. Rob’s arrival. The world leaders. The main plot. The hidden plot(s). The locations. Magic. Talking things that shouldn’t talk. Worlds beyond worlds. Dumb luck. Dumb love.
So you get something pretty amazing here. I strongly encourage you to not just read, but buy these books, to best support seeing more. Definitely recommended (15+)