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Desa Kincaid #1
Bounty Hunter
Desa Kincaid has spent the last ten years in pursuit of a man whose experiments have killed over a dozen people.
Blessed with the power to transform ordinary objects into devastating weapons, she journeys through trading ports, backwater towns, forests, deserts and the haunted remains of a dead city.
But can she stop her enemy before he unleashes something terrible on the world?
Paperback
First published March 6, 2019
275 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
About the author
R.S. Penney
59 books57 followersI was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario where I attended Saltfleet High School and McMaster University. I've spent most of my life fighting for the little guy in one form or another, advocating for the poor, for environmental sustainability, for minority rights.
Throughout my twenties, I wrote about five novels and threw them all out because they weren't very good. But I improved and honed my skills with each new manuscript. About two years ago, I had an offer from a traditional publishing house, but I chose to go indie instead. Writing is my passion; if I could dedicate myself to one thing, it would be bringing the ideas in my head to life.
Throughout my twenties, I wrote about five novels and threw them all out because they weren't very good. But I improved and honed my skills with each new manuscript. About two years ago, I had an offer from a traditional publishing house, but I chose to go indie instead. Writing is my passion; if I could dedicate myself to one thing, it would be bringing the ideas in my head to life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
December 28, 2019
A good YA, sci-fi story.
September 10, 2019
First, a note: a copy of this book was sent to me for free for review.
My first reaction when I started reading Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter was, “Oh, great. Western and fantasy, two genres I don’t read.” But I gotta tell you, I really, really liked this book. The author's genre mix was perfect.
Desa is a bounty hunter with lots of magic in her toolbox. She likes to work alone, but along her journey to capture her nemesis she collects quite the group of people—not quite friends but more than (a couple much more than) fellow travelers. Their multifaceted relationships add to the main bounty-hunter plot, giving the reader a break between the action and fight scenes.
The characters are well developed, the world building complete, and there are lots of emotional scenes: fights, betrayals, love, bigger betrayals, loss, courageous behavior—you get the idea. I hope the author has another Desa Kincaid book up his/her sleeve.
My first reaction when I started reading Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter was, “Oh, great. Western and fantasy, two genres I don’t read.” But I gotta tell you, I really, really liked this book. The author's genre mix was perfect.
Desa is a bounty hunter with lots of magic in her toolbox. She likes to work alone, but along her journey to capture her nemesis she collects quite the group of people—not quite friends but more than (a couple much more than) fellow travelers. Their multifaceted relationships add to the main bounty-hunter plot, giving the reader a break between the action and fight scenes.
The characters are well developed, the world building complete, and there are lots of emotional scenes: fights, betrayals, love, bigger betrayals, loss, courageous behavior—you get the idea. I hope the author has another Desa Kincaid book up his/her sleeve.
October 20, 2022
I liked the concept of a fearless lesbian defeating evil with her magic and devastating weapons in a primarily western environment. Compelling descriptions, drama, and other LGBTQ+ characters give the reader a refreshing distraction from the intense action. I enjoyed this book through the end.
July 14, 2021
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
4* is a pretty generous rating here for my standards, but my standards are pretty prickly, so don't read too much into that. Instead, read into my review!
When I got the offer to review Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter, I had no idea what to expect, but a fantasy western with a kickass female lead sounded pretty cool to me. So I dived in, and was surprised how much I was enjoying myself!
Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is about the titular Desa Kincaid, a lesbian bounty hunter with magic powers (I know some of you stopped reading the review here and went to buy it, and I can't blame you for it either). Those powers are also known as Field Binding: She can give objects the power to absorb or release different types of energy - heat, kinetic energy, light, etc. - at will. Those powers are a pretty exclusive deal to her home, but she's went out into the wild west to chase a man who did some pretty horrid experiments and will hurt more people if he isn't stopped.
This is pretty basic as far as fantasy western goes (though I suppose the genre itself is niche enough), but the book did its own spin on the thing. I really liked field binding as a magic system, and how it was utilized. The rules were quickly established, and all the time, different and creative ways to use field binding popped up. This type of exploring magic systems is something I've been missing in quite a lot of other fantasy books I've read, even those that like to boast about their intricate magic systems, so seeing someone put the magic into action was real refreshing.
Now that that's said, I'm gonna get to the point you're probably actually interested in: Yeah, this book has a solid amount of queer characters. Somehow, people always seem concerned whether it will seem "unnatural" to have so many queer characters in one place, but this book proves them nonsense. Desa is a strict lesbian, and her student Tommy is queer. I liked them both as characters, but my absolute favourite character in the book was actually Miri - she's a bit unconventional for a female character, and I really wished I got to read more characters like her. Overall, the characterisation was good, buuuut....
Here comes my big but. The character WRITING wasn't always as crisp. Not because there was something wrong with the characters, but the character voice. There was a fair share of over explaining characters and their motives, and it got a bit annoying. Yeah, I get it, Desa doesn't trust Miri. I don't need to be reminded constantly. It wasn't a terrible problem, but it did bother me, and it made for a major flaw in the otherwise wonderful style.
The rest of the prose was very enjoyable. The descriptions are vivid, I could picture the people and the landscapes, I felt the weather, and I had an easy time imagining what using magic is like. I'm usually more of a classic fantasy reader, so the western setting was a cool fresh pick for me, and the genre blent really well together - I almost forgot western doesn't usually have magic.
There's not much else I have here to talk about - there was a twist that felt a bit too out of nowhere but was overall ok (and maybe I just missed the hints), there were some good jokes and funny moments, and I really liked how a certain later villain was described. Overall, I'd say it's a fun and super enjoyable read if you're looking for something with a kickass lesbian at the center, or like fantasy and are interested in a western style setting.
4* is a pretty generous rating here for my standards, but my standards are pretty prickly, so don't read too much into that. Instead, read into my review!
When I got the offer to review Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter, I had no idea what to expect, but a fantasy western with a kickass female lead sounded pretty cool to me. So I dived in, and was surprised how much I was enjoying myself!
Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is about the titular Desa Kincaid, a lesbian bounty hunter with magic powers (I know some of you stopped reading the review here and went to buy it, and I can't blame you for it either). Those powers are also known as Field Binding: She can give objects the power to absorb or release different types of energy - heat, kinetic energy, light, etc. - at will. Those powers are a pretty exclusive deal to her home, but she's went out into the wild west to chase a man who did some pretty horrid experiments and will hurt more people if he isn't stopped.
This is pretty basic as far as fantasy western goes (though I suppose the genre itself is niche enough), but the book did its own spin on the thing. I really liked field binding as a magic system, and how it was utilized. The rules were quickly established, and all the time, different and creative ways to use field binding popped up. This type of exploring magic systems is something I've been missing in quite a lot of other fantasy books I've read, even those that like to boast about their intricate magic systems, so seeing someone put the magic into action was real refreshing.
Now that that's said, I'm gonna get to the point you're probably actually interested in: Yeah, this book has a solid amount of queer characters. Somehow, people always seem concerned whether it will seem "unnatural" to have so many queer characters in one place, but this book proves them nonsense. Desa is a strict lesbian, and her student Tommy is queer. I liked them both as characters, but my absolute favourite character in the book was actually Miri - she's a bit unconventional for a female character, and I really wished I got to read more characters like her. Overall, the characterisation was good, buuuut....
Here comes my big but. The character WRITING wasn't always as crisp. Not because there was something wrong with the characters, but the character voice. There was a fair share of over explaining characters and their motives, and it got a bit annoying. Yeah, I get it, Desa doesn't trust Miri. I don't need to be reminded constantly. It wasn't a terrible problem, but it did bother me, and it made for a major flaw in the otherwise wonderful style.
The rest of the prose was very enjoyable. The descriptions are vivid, I could picture the people and the landscapes, I felt the weather, and I had an easy time imagining what using magic is like. I'm usually more of a classic fantasy reader, so the western setting was a cool fresh pick for me, and the genre blent really well together - I almost forgot western doesn't usually have magic.
There's not much else I have here to talk about - there was a twist that felt a bit too out of nowhere but was overall ok (and maybe I just missed the hints), there were some good jokes and funny moments, and I really liked how a certain later villain was described. Overall, I'd say it's a fun and super enjoyable read if you're looking for something with a kickass lesbian at the center, or like fantasy and are interested in a western style setting.
March 20, 2022
Bounty Hunter: Review
A Desa Kincaid Adventure – Book One
by R.S. Penney (Goodreads Author)
Here are the beginnings, but not really, of Desa Kincaid and her band of merry, and not so merry, adventurers. It is always a little awkward when you meet your characters in the middle of their story. That is what happened when I read book two, Bullets And Bones , first. However, I liked it so much that I agreed to do a review of the first book and put it on my reading list. Here we are.
Desa is a young bounty hunter. Her real prey is a mass murderer that used his extraordinary use of what we would call ‘magic’ to escape their home country years ago. Desa has been pursuing him for ten years and this story is the climax – we think – of that pursuit.
The story is set in a western, almost steampunk (the radio, for instance), setting, with a little fantasy and a wallop of science-fiction mixed in. It works.
It is a well woven story that is enjoyable to read. While the book can almost stand on its own, it is also clear that it is a part of a saga. How many installments to follow? Perhaps not even the author knows. Desa does seem to take on a life and quests of her own. There was a book before it and there will be a book(s) after it. So, if you are not prepared to invest in a series it may not be for you.
Desa is the type of character who understands that, “And fools prefer violence to talk.” But she is prepared to defend herself and those around her. She has a nasty streak too.
Desa understands that her home country, Aladar, had “the good fortune of having been a society with a more advanced understanding of physics.” But she also seems to understand that they have become staid and insular in their guarding of their technology.
It is intriguing how the author described the Ether as a “world of tiny swirling particles and one infinitely smaller than a spec of dust.” And how the author contrasts the Ether with the Nether…” chaos made manifest.”
To gain trust, you must offer trust.
Finally, there are parts that are a little disjointed to me. The tracking of trackers. The introduction of characters including Adele, that just seem to pop in. Especially since, “Adele had always displayed abilities beyond anything that should have been possible.” But it is wise to go with the flow and the characters generally catch up to the flow of the story.
Remember that “magic is just reality waiting to be understood.” And there is magic in this story.
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
https://linomatteo.wordpress.com/2022...
A Desa Kincaid Adventure – Book One
by R.S. Penney (Goodreads Author)
Here are the beginnings, but not really, of Desa Kincaid and her band of merry, and not so merry, adventurers. It is always a little awkward when you meet your characters in the middle of their story. That is what happened when I read book two, Bullets And Bones , first. However, I liked it so much that I agreed to do a review of the first book and put it on my reading list. Here we are.
Desa is a young bounty hunter. Her real prey is a mass murderer that used his extraordinary use of what we would call ‘magic’ to escape their home country years ago. Desa has been pursuing him for ten years and this story is the climax – we think – of that pursuit.
The story is set in a western, almost steampunk (the radio, for instance), setting, with a little fantasy and a wallop of science-fiction mixed in. It works.
It is a well woven story that is enjoyable to read. While the book can almost stand on its own, it is also clear that it is a part of a saga. How many installments to follow? Perhaps not even the author knows. Desa does seem to take on a life and quests of her own. There was a book before it and there will be a book(s) after it. So, if you are not prepared to invest in a series it may not be for you.
Desa is the type of character who understands that, “And fools prefer violence to talk.” But she is prepared to defend herself and those around her. She has a nasty streak too.
Desa understands that her home country, Aladar, had “the good fortune of having been a society with a more advanced understanding of physics.” But she also seems to understand that they have become staid and insular in their guarding of their technology.
It is intriguing how the author described the Ether as a “world of tiny swirling particles and one infinitely smaller than a spec of dust.” And how the author contrasts the Ether with the Nether…” chaos made manifest.”
To gain trust, you must offer trust.
Finally, there are parts that are a little disjointed to me. The tracking of trackers. The introduction of characters including Adele, that just seem to pop in. Especially since, “Adele had always displayed abilities beyond anything that should have been possible.” But it is wise to go with the flow and the characters generally catch up to the flow of the story.
Remember that “magic is just reality waiting to be understood.” And there is magic in this story.
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
https://linomatteo.wordpress.com/2022...
September 2, 2019
Let me start by saying I'm not much of a scientific-fiction reader. Also thank God for my rule of giving books up to three chapters to see if I want to continue a story. The first and second chapter didn't have enough action in it right away to hook me, or enough dialogue but as I dove into chapter three the side characters like Miri, in particular, was introduced and right off the back I wanted to know more about her. When she called Tommy, Lommy instead because she had an ex with that name I could relate. I have a professor that has one my ex's name and the first thing in my head was, "Really?" (Lol) Then when I reached chapter 4 I was sold! The dialogue, character development, and the action scenes were on point from this chapter to the end of the book. The storyline ended up taking me on a journey I didn't expect. This book ended up being filled with action, rememberable characters, twists, love, lust, heartbreak, suspense, and moments that made my mouth dropped. Oh and the main characters are apart of the LGBTQ! And I had no idea! As I was reading the book I was like, "Wait they're together!" Overall, this book is definitely a must read for scientific-fiction lovers.
October 14, 2019
*I recieved a free copy to review.
Overall this was a fun, enjoyable fantasy/scifi story with a lot of action. The mythology and magic system are unique and intriguing.
Most of the narration and descriptions were functional, but didn't add to the mood for me. I tend to prefer more immersive prose.
I also wish I got to know the characters and the world better. As a reader, I feel like I never got a reason why Tommy would have ever been interested in Sebastion in the first place, and I felt that way with some of the other relationships, as well. Also, the first couple of towns kind of felt the same. It seems like the only part of the world with an organized government is Aladar (sp?); and we're never told why one part of the world had this fantastic technology, but not the rest. However, I don't imagine any of this gets horribly in the way of enjoying the story. These are just things that would have added to my experience.
Overall this was a fun, enjoyable fantasy/scifi story with a lot of action. The mythology and magic system are unique and intriguing.
Most of the narration and descriptions were functional, but didn't add to the mood for me. I tend to prefer more immersive prose.
I also wish I got to know the characters and the world better. As a reader, I feel like I never got a reason why Tommy would have ever been interested in Sebastion in the first place, and I felt that way with some of the other relationships, as well. Also, the first couple of towns kind of felt the same. It seems like the only part of the world with an organized government is Aladar (sp?); and we're never told why one part of the world had this fantastic technology, but not the rest. However, I don't imagine any of this gets horribly in the way of enjoying the story. These are just things that would have added to my experience.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2019
A good action, adventure! The lead character, Desa Kincaid, is skilled in a form of magic or special arts which the author teaches us is called Field Binding. She is an enjoyable lead character who cares about people and during the story accumulates a band of friends. Desa is a powerful practitioner who does not seem to realize the extent of her powers and her ingenuity at applying them. This story has very good adventure, a good bit of romance, and a great bit of friends and friendship. I enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it to others. The ending was a bit odd, but the remainder of the book was excellent. The setting was almost a western, but with different society rules. This is an excellent beginning to future adventures. I look forward to additional stories in this tale.
October 27, 2021
If you love sci fi, fantasy, westerns, or badass female leads then saddle up your horse and secure your boots because you'll be going on a wild ride with Desa Kincaid and the crew!
Now I'll admit that this one was a bit of a slow starter for me. However, I pushed through and was presented with a delightful treat.
Desa is a no nonsense bounty hunter on a mission to hunt down and stop an evil force before time runs out. She encounters an interesting crew along the way, all with their own talents to contribute to the end goal.
While slow at some points, this is a very intriguing story and I could see it becoming a successful series. I highly recommend you check this out if you like any of the elements listed above.
Now I'll admit that this one was a bit of a slow starter for me. However, I pushed through and was presented with a delightful treat.
Desa is a no nonsense bounty hunter on a mission to hunt down and stop an evil force before time runs out. She encounters an interesting crew along the way, all with their own talents to contribute to the end goal.
While slow at some points, this is a very intriguing story and I could see it becoming a successful series. I highly recommend you check this out if you like any of the elements listed above.
April 12, 2022
2.5* This story started off well with interesting characters and storyline but as I got to the half way point it began to get a bit confusing. There was too much romance for my taste and with so many action scenes towards the end I felt that the world building was lacking. I would have liked more descriptions of the magic systems and societies the characters inhabited, greater world building and less dialogue.
It is an easy, quick read, so if you like action with your romance with and a strong female lead this would be more to your liking.
It is an easy, quick read, so if you like action with your romance with and a strong female lead this would be more to your liking.
April 29, 2023
Desa Kincaid was a read outside my usual genre but I still found the story very enjoyable.
Desa is a bounty hunter who has been tracking a singular target for years all on her own, but it’s only when she is joined by two old friends and some new companions as well that her journey begins to bear fruit.
I loved the found family themes and the LGBTQ+ threads that were woven throughout the book. The action scenes were also very well written which I usually skim over but not these.
Overall this was a great start to a series and it left me wanting to pick up the next book.
Desa is a bounty hunter who has been tracking a singular target for years all on her own, but it’s only when she is joined by two old friends and some new companions as well that her journey begins to bear fruit.
I loved the found family themes and the LGBTQ+ threads that were woven throughout the book. The action scenes were also very well written which I usually skim over but not these.
Overall this was a great start to a series and it left me wanting to pick up the next book.
December 31, 2019
This book was a nice diversion from my usual genre of choice. It features a strong, female protagonist – Desa Kincaid – who, beneath her tough exterior (born out of need – she had to fend off numerous adversaries throughout the book) is sensitive and caring. I like how the author, R.S. Penney, uses vivid imagery throughout, bringing the characters and their worlds to life. I found myself turning page after page, wondering what will happen next. I look forward to more books by R.S. Penney.
March 31, 2022
This western/fantasy mash-up is a fun read, mainly due to the main character, Desa Kincaid. The 'magical' powers are creative and I liked the world that the author created. I also found the action scenes to be well done.
I enjoyed the first half more than the second. I didn't really feel an emotional connection to the new characters who entered the novel and didn't think their motivations were always consistent or believable, although Miri was funny and had some really good lines.
I enjoyed the first half more than the second. I didn't really feel an emotional connection to the new characters who entered the novel and didn't think their motivations were always consistent or believable, although Miri was funny and had some really good lines.
November 25, 2019
VERY interesting story. Interesting world and characters as well. Good development of characters and descriptions were superb. I enjoyed reading it very much. There were a slight issues with length, climaxes and grammar but worth the read.
June 15, 2019
I liked the characters in this book, able to use technology which allowed them to bend gravity, or stop bullets in mid-air. It was a fanciful story and even though the genre is not my favorite I still enjoyed the entire tale. The author is a master as creating fight scenes out of the fantasma of his genre. The fight scenes in this book are incredibly drawn with surprising results. No, I won't tell you about how Desa Kincaid deals with Bendarian. You will have to read the book yourself to discover that information. Not to worry. It is well worth the time and money.
December 5, 2021
An interesting world populated by interesting characters. Clever use of magic.
January 19, 2023
Book kindly provided by the author.
*Full Story Spoilers Ahead*
Bounty Hunter is a fast paced adventure-romance story set in a fantasy-western world featuring strong world building and a character driven plot. Readers would benefit from a strong imagination as the writing does not always do the world of Eradia justice.
Plot Summary
Desa Kincaid, bounty hunter and Field Binder of Aladar, estranged from her homeland and in pursuit of two men, Bendarian and Morley. Bendarian's deadly experiments left many dead and wounded. Desa has been pursuing him for a decade yet he somehow manages to always evade her. Morley is responsible for the death of Desa’s husband, Martin, a man she married but did not love romantically as she prefers the company of women.
We meet Desa approaching the village of Sorla where Morley was last seen. He is long gone but the Ether reveals he was there. She is attacked by a local brute who she later has to be beat up with the aid of her Field Binding; magic. She drags him to the sheriff’s office while he screams of witchcraft and evil. Desa lies to the sheriff and to the brute’s misfortune he is a known trouble maker who the sheriff is all too happy to lock up. In the jail house we meet our first two companions, Tommy and Sebastian, imprisoned for breaking the Almighty’s law that men do not sleep with other men. Tommy is destined for the hangman’s noose while his lover Sebastian chose slavery. Desa cannot help herself and demands they are freed as it is no crime in Aladar, a name that brings more trouble than it’s worth outside its walls. The sheriff and deputy disagree and another fight occurs. Desa beats the two men handedly, with help of magic, and frees Tommy and Sebastian, then fleeing south in pursuit of Morley.
They arrive in a Glad Meadows and come across a woman named Miri who teases Tommy but soon the group are followed by Lenny and others from Sorla. A fight with gravity magic, thanks to Desa, plays out and her and Tommy escape. Sebastian chooses to stay behind due to his distrust of the witch. He soon reappears along with Miri who followed Desa out of Glad Meadows and into the forest. The four travel, uncomfortably, together on the road to Ofalla; a large city. We are introduced to Marcus, a by the book Field Binder tasked with arresting Desa for her brazen acts that risk war between Aladar and the surrounding lands. A war that when last fought almost brought ruin to the Field Binders fabled city.
Close to Ofalla Desa and company discover a strange grey wasteland. A farmhouse stands, the grass is grown, but all is grey. She investigates the house, finds everything inside is grey from bullets to chairs to shoes, and leaves - taking the bullets. The family appear from behind the building, grey and ashen, unable to speak and behaving like beasts. Desa is attacked and finds that nothing effects the greymen save a bullet to the head. Sebastian pulls the trigger first and Desa is furious but that is unexplained and I assume it was some hope of saving the people from their malady. When Desa is about to slay the last of them it speaks with an unnatural voice that sounds like an amalgamation of many. Talking as if it not of the world it leaves and the last of the greymen collapse dead.
The party reaches Ofalla and Marcus confronts Desa and takes her to speak with the Synod, leaders of Aladar, via radio. Technology that is witchcraft to the ‘primitives.’ Desa is commanded to return. She refuses and has a short fight with Marcus as she flees the bank he stashed the radio in. Out in the street, however, she finds Morley wielding a seemingly unlimited supply of Ether. Marcus and Desa fight Morley as long as they can but he cannot die and instead they choose to flee leaving destruction in their wake. At the hotel they are staying at Desa discovers she cannot infuse the bullets she looted from the farmhouse, the Ether does not touch them. It is unclear what this means.
Adele, a mysterious aristocrat of Ofalla and Sensitive (someone who can see into the Ether with ease) comes to Desa with Bendarian’s address. Her uncle is the mayor and the two write to each other often. Sebastian, after arguing with Tommy, and finding Bendarian’s address betrays the group. Miri follows him and returns with the unfortunate news.
Desa and Marcus plan an assault on Bendarian’s house. Marcus lures Morley away while Desa goes inside. Desa kills Sebastian and a long fight breaks out with Bendarian. He reveals his and Morley’s endless power comes from the Nether, the antithesis of the Ether, chaotic energy that feeds on emotion and can rewrite the laws of nature. Something happens and this power ages Bendarian decades in seconds. Chaos cannot be controlled. A voice speaks to him from the beyond demanding to be freed. He teleports to escape Desa.
Desa and company track Bendarian using an infused knife that Desa impaled him with and he kept while Adele can pinpoint his location too. Desa keeps her knowledge secret and distrusts Adele finding her power too convenient. After days of travelling they reach the Gatharan Desert. Desa pursues Bendarian alone into the desert and reaches a mysterious ancient city with crystals that exude Ether. Bendarian is there, his form now taking on serpentine qualities, well on his way on ushering in whatever he found in the Nether. Morley is missing having been killed by Bendarian for his life force. Bendarian is ‘killed’ a number of times but the Nether sustains him. The two fight and are interrupted by Adele who shoots Bendarian and then attempts to destroy the crystal. She fails but succeeds in her own aim; to release the being of the Nether into herself. Bendarian is distraught, and powerless now his master is free, but still he cannot die as Adele will not allow it. She has vast control over reality. Desa attempts to kill her but Adele warns her not too and halts bullets in midair without any infused objects. She leaves to convert people to worship her. Desa finds the others and is dejected in her failure. In fact everything is worse.
Desa, Miri, Tommy, and Marcus travel to Dry Gulch, the town on the other side of the Gatharan Desert where Adele meets them. She isn’t really Adele anymore and refers to herself as the Weaver, sibling of Mercy and Vengeance, the goddess of creation Desa introduced early on as responsible for the Ether. The Weaver teleports Desa et al to Aladar where they are promptly arrested for high treason.
I have not mentioned the romance plots which are present for each of the main characters. These are forefront for parts of the book and fall away for other parts. For Tommy and Adele it is a major part of their chapters as it is for Miri later on. Desa tries her hardest to ignore her own romantic entanglements but fails spectacularly. Around 35-40% of the time the book reads like a romance first and fantasy-western second, though the romance is tied to the main plot in a couple of major ways.
Worldbuilding
Aladar, city of Field Binders, advanced technology, and closed off from the rest of the Eradian continent. An enclave of knowledgeable and snobbish people unwilling to share with the ‘primitives’ beyond their walls. A war was fought between the ‘primitives’ and the Aladri in which Aladar almost fell, hence the resentment. While revolvers and similar weaponry are common in Eradia, electricity is none existent and pack animals are still the primary means of transport. Conversely in Aladar there are radios, electricity, control over gravity and light, and much more thanks to Field Binding. A magic Desa and Marcus insist is merely technology but requires the use of Ether, a mysterious invisible energy force present in all things left over from creation by the goddesses Mercy and Vengeance, or so it is believed by the Aladri. The rest of the Eradian continent worship the Almighty, a god of strict laws and customs which the Aladri routinely ignore, break, and disrespect.
Field Binding is an odd magic system, well thought out and precise in its application similar to a Brandon Sanderson magic system, but its source and whether it is magic at all is contentious for the characters, and maybe for some readers who want clearer information. It begins as technology were infusing objects with different types of Ether generates an effect. A ring can be made to glow as a Light Source or create a bubble of darkness as Light Sink. A belt can be made to alter gravity’s pull as a Gravity Sink or Source to create the effect for the user of incredible leaps over buildings or faux-flight. There is control over heat and electricity too. This is all solidly written and makes for some excellent fight scenes and clever solutions to the problems faced. The source of the magic begins as technology, infusing objects with Ether, then shifts into a residue of creation - thus miracles or divine magic - and then into something else defined by its opposite, the Nether. A mysterious sort of divine power fuelled by emotion while the Ether is reached through meditation and serenity. This does add to the world and character building as we see even the Aladri are fallible and mistaken as to the nature of the world despite their advanced “technology.”
The Eradian continent is a vast landscape with various biomes. Desa starts her journey in small villages and forests but is soon in farmlands and the city of Ofalla where after a brief stay they head off into drylands crossing rivers to reach scrublands and finally the Gatharan Desert, a red and dusty place. The world is populated by a stiff and proper people, by farmers and aristocrats, by bankers and ruffians, by merchants and thieves. Yet as much as the world is believable and full at times it also feels empty and solely revolving around our heroes at others (and that’s before it is in fact empty in the desert). I enjoyed my time in Eradia as fantasy-western is an unusual combination that should be utilised by more authors but the depth of the world shown was too shallow and lacking richness. At times the characters observations seem either out of place, contrived, or so message laden as to break the immersion:
‘Desa resisted the urge to make a comment about men and their seemingly endless need to command respect through the construction of large, obtrusive monuments to their power. Only a money lender would choose to imbue a place of commerce with religious significance.’ (Chapter 10, p175 in my pdf copy with 500 pages.)
Yes it would be a bank that was made to look like a church, I agree Desa, only a money lender could be so crass but I am more interested in the sentence before. Does Desa honestly believe ornate, imposing buildings are merely ‘obtrusive’ and built only for men to show off? I don’t know, seems at odd view for someone from a grand and advanced city like Aladar. This may explain the lack of richness in the descriptions of the world; character doesn’t care so we don’t see it but that seems like a missed opportunity to world build for the reader. Yet there are multiple points of view of the world that read only a little differently. Many things are described as ‘grey’ even though that colour becomes important to the story later on. Other descriptions read more like a manual than a novel.
The fascinating and inviting world is there but if only it were shown in greater depth. More colour and grandiosity would go a long way to building the world of Eradia. What we are shown is necessary but not sufficient.
Throughout there are inconsistencies in names. An inn called ‘MacGregor’s’ on one page becomes ‘McGregor’s’ on the next and this sort of mistake repeats later when an inn referred to as ‘The Wagon Wheel’ becomes ‘Wheel and Wagon’ only later to revert to ‘The Wagon Wheel’ all within 20 pages. A third time is with the Molarin Mountains, far beyond the Gatharan Desert, or is it Molaran Mountains? I assume these are the same place but the inconsistency leaves me questioning. Not only that but I then wonder if I’ve missed others and whether R. S. Penney has done his due diligence in crafting his own world. Yes typos are inevitable, I’m sure I have some in this review that I haven’t caught, but ‘The Wagon Wheel’ to ‘Wheel and Wagon’ and back to ‘The Wagon Wheel’ is more than a typo, it suggests carelessness and I am sure that is not what Penney wants to show.
Characters
The characters are hard to like, or dislike for that matter. Which is fine, I don’t mind reading the exploits of arseholes. Hell pretty much every Red Rising character is an arsehole and I think that series has exceptional characters. In Bounty Hunter, however, there is something missing that makes them not quite arseholes but also not lovable. Exciting things are happening yet it can feel dull, an odd combination. Tommy is the most relatable, as he has no idea what’s going on most of the time like the reader, and Adele is the sweetest, until she isn’t and that’s a great ending for her, while Miri is inoffensive. The rest are fine, I guess. I have no strong feelings either way which isn’t a great result.
Desa enters the story a foreigner in a strange land. The land is the village of Sorla, an Almighty-fearing village with a dislike for witches and queer folk. Understandable, a warlock, by the name of Morley, recently passed through and by McGregor of McGregor’s account he was most unpleasant. Now a bounty hunter passes through wielding magic and faking her accent. I can see why the town is fearful and wants her to move on. She runs into Ducane, the town bully, and makes a mockery of his bravado by beating him senseless with magic. Doing what a good citizen would do she drags him off to the sheriff. All well and good. Ducane accuses her of witchcraft to which Desa lies that she isn’t a witch. A prudent measure that she renegades on moments later.
Desa sees Tommy and Sebastian in a cell and Sebastian has a slave brand on his cheek, his choice instead of the gallows that Tommy has chosen. The pair were caught sleeping with one another, a crime punishable by death. Extreme but that’s their law. Desa then orders Lenny and the sheriff to release them ‘On the authority of Desa nin Leean, Prime Field Binder of Aladar,’ and offers to take them away to Aladar, a place she hasn’t been for 11 years, to live in peace. What exactly did she expect to happen? Does she have authority outside of Aladar? No. It is well established Aladar is sealed shut and few venture out and those who do must blend in and live secretly. Okay then it’s a threat, not an order. Yet all that accomplishes is revealing she’s a witch, a fact she was trying to keep secret a few sentences ago. This is not the last time a Field Binder announces themselves as if the title carries weight. Desa does it and Marcus does it later on much further away from Aladar too. Sure it’s a “cool” line, or cringe depending on your tastes, but it is incredibly stupid to attract such unwanted attention when they know the folk don’t like witches and that Aladar was almost destroyed in a war with these ‘primitives’; a word Marcus and Desa use to describe the less technological showing their disdain for them.
Back to the jail house. We learn Tommy is Lenny’s brother and while Lenny doesn’t want to see his brother die the law’s the law and it comes from the Almighty. In another act that questions her wandering the lands for 11 years without attracting a mob the size of an army she says ‘Not everyone believes in your Almighty, sirs.’ Is she trying to be inconspicuous or not? When in Rome do as the Romans is a lesson Desa never learned and at this point I’m left wondering if she has spent the last 11 years freeing criminals and attempting to convert the populace of these small villages rather than live her life amongst them as a bounty hunter. Her threat and declaration predictably brings the sheriff’s wrath rather than obedience. Witchcraft is also a crime. A small fight ensues and Desa beats them up and forces Lenny to free Tommy and his lover, Sebastian. At first neither follows her and she worries about the enemies she has made all ‘to save a pair of primitive boys who were so inculcated with this backward little culture.’ I’m not sure why I should be enamoured by our would-be hero. Is it because I should take real life with me into this fictional world? That’s not how I read fiction. A fictional world operates separately from our own and it and its characters should be judged accordingly. Desa is close to villainous. She has taken pains not to kill anyone but she has lied, threatened, and attacked frightened and innocent people doing their jobs and enforcing their own laws. From the point of view of Lenny, a stand-up deputy sorrowful his brother broke the law, she is a villain.
Desa could be fighting evil in this encounter, and given the penalty for their crime of sleeping together is death or slavery, it is possible. The punishment is extreme even within the world of Eradia and Desa attacking these people is necessary to prevent that. By doing so, however, she is risking war between the ‘primitives’ and Aladar as well as ignoring the authority of the Synod, the leadership of Aladar. Desa is a self-righteous character and written like a power fantasy for the reader. Smiting bad guys and enforcing her truth on them. This sentiment extends to her own allies too, especially Marcus. If that appeals, then you will enjoy the book. I found that this first major scene where I, as the reader, were expected to carry a real world judgement into a fictional world jarring and soured me to Desa and the book in general. But even excluding that Desa does not follow her own advice. Later on she criticises Marcus for wanting to fight through a town, Fool’s Edge, that is rallying against them, to the point of shooting at our heroes, saying ‘You think we should attack frightened people? If we did that would we be any better than Bendarian.’ Now I would like to think this is character development but I’m sceptical. She attacks frightened people in Sorla and in the next village Glad Meadows (most of whom are unarmed in Glad Meadows) so she can escape. We learn from the people of Fool’s Edge that Bendarian killed three and threatened to kill more unless they refused Desa and her gang passage. Desa is right, to attack Fool’s Edge as Marcus suggests would be villainous and make them no better than Bendarian. If that is the case how does she square that with attacking Sheriff Cromwell and Deputy Lenny in Sorla and the townspeople of Glad Meadows? She didn’t kill anyone, true, but she did injure, in her fleeing from the law. We don’t know how Fool’s Edge approached Bendarian but given he looked more demonic than
*Full Story Spoilers Ahead*
Bounty Hunter is a fast paced adventure-romance story set in a fantasy-western world featuring strong world building and a character driven plot. Readers would benefit from a strong imagination as the writing does not always do the world of Eradia justice.
Plot Summary
Desa Kincaid, bounty hunter and Field Binder of Aladar, estranged from her homeland and in pursuit of two men, Bendarian and Morley. Bendarian's deadly experiments left many dead and wounded. Desa has been pursuing him for a decade yet he somehow manages to always evade her. Morley is responsible for the death of Desa’s husband, Martin, a man she married but did not love romantically as she prefers the company of women.
We meet Desa approaching the village of Sorla where Morley was last seen. He is long gone but the Ether reveals he was there. She is attacked by a local brute who she later has to be beat up with the aid of her Field Binding; magic. She drags him to the sheriff’s office while he screams of witchcraft and evil. Desa lies to the sheriff and to the brute’s misfortune he is a known trouble maker who the sheriff is all too happy to lock up. In the jail house we meet our first two companions, Tommy and Sebastian, imprisoned for breaking the Almighty’s law that men do not sleep with other men. Tommy is destined for the hangman’s noose while his lover Sebastian chose slavery. Desa cannot help herself and demands they are freed as it is no crime in Aladar, a name that brings more trouble than it’s worth outside its walls. The sheriff and deputy disagree and another fight occurs. Desa beats the two men handedly, with help of magic, and frees Tommy and Sebastian, then fleeing south in pursuit of Morley.
They arrive in a Glad Meadows and come across a woman named Miri who teases Tommy but soon the group are followed by Lenny and others from Sorla. A fight with gravity magic, thanks to Desa, plays out and her and Tommy escape. Sebastian chooses to stay behind due to his distrust of the witch. He soon reappears along with Miri who followed Desa out of Glad Meadows and into the forest. The four travel, uncomfortably, together on the road to Ofalla; a large city. We are introduced to Marcus, a by the book Field Binder tasked with arresting Desa for her brazen acts that risk war between Aladar and the surrounding lands. A war that when last fought almost brought ruin to the Field Binders fabled city.
Close to Ofalla Desa and company discover a strange grey wasteland. A farmhouse stands, the grass is grown, but all is grey. She investigates the house, finds everything inside is grey from bullets to chairs to shoes, and leaves - taking the bullets. The family appear from behind the building, grey and ashen, unable to speak and behaving like beasts. Desa is attacked and finds that nothing effects the greymen save a bullet to the head. Sebastian pulls the trigger first and Desa is furious but that is unexplained and I assume it was some hope of saving the people from their malady. When Desa is about to slay the last of them it speaks with an unnatural voice that sounds like an amalgamation of many. Talking as if it not of the world it leaves and the last of the greymen collapse dead.
The party reaches Ofalla and Marcus confronts Desa and takes her to speak with the Synod, leaders of Aladar, via radio. Technology that is witchcraft to the ‘primitives.’ Desa is commanded to return. She refuses and has a short fight with Marcus as she flees the bank he stashed the radio in. Out in the street, however, she finds Morley wielding a seemingly unlimited supply of Ether. Marcus and Desa fight Morley as long as they can but he cannot die and instead they choose to flee leaving destruction in their wake. At the hotel they are staying at Desa discovers she cannot infuse the bullets she looted from the farmhouse, the Ether does not touch them. It is unclear what this means.
Adele, a mysterious aristocrat of Ofalla and Sensitive (someone who can see into the Ether with ease) comes to Desa with Bendarian’s address. Her uncle is the mayor and the two write to each other often. Sebastian, after arguing with Tommy, and finding Bendarian’s address betrays the group. Miri follows him and returns with the unfortunate news.
Desa and Marcus plan an assault on Bendarian’s house. Marcus lures Morley away while Desa goes inside. Desa kills Sebastian and a long fight breaks out with Bendarian. He reveals his and Morley’s endless power comes from the Nether, the antithesis of the Ether, chaotic energy that feeds on emotion and can rewrite the laws of nature. Something happens and this power ages Bendarian decades in seconds. Chaos cannot be controlled. A voice speaks to him from the beyond demanding to be freed. He teleports to escape Desa.
Desa and company track Bendarian using an infused knife that Desa impaled him with and he kept while Adele can pinpoint his location too. Desa keeps her knowledge secret and distrusts Adele finding her power too convenient. After days of travelling they reach the Gatharan Desert. Desa pursues Bendarian alone into the desert and reaches a mysterious ancient city with crystals that exude Ether. Bendarian is there, his form now taking on serpentine qualities, well on his way on ushering in whatever he found in the Nether. Morley is missing having been killed by Bendarian for his life force. Bendarian is ‘killed’ a number of times but the Nether sustains him. The two fight and are interrupted by Adele who shoots Bendarian and then attempts to destroy the crystal. She fails but succeeds in her own aim; to release the being of the Nether into herself. Bendarian is distraught, and powerless now his master is free, but still he cannot die as Adele will not allow it. She has vast control over reality. Desa attempts to kill her but Adele warns her not too and halts bullets in midair without any infused objects. She leaves to convert people to worship her. Desa finds the others and is dejected in her failure. In fact everything is worse.
Desa, Miri, Tommy, and Marcus travel to Dry Gulch, the town on the other side of the Gatharan Desert where Adele meets them. She isn’t really Adele anymore and refers to herself as the Weaver, sibling of Mercy and Vengeance, the goddess of creation Desa introduced early on as responsible for the Ether. The Weaver teleports Desa et al to Aladar where they are promptly arrested for high treason.
I have not mentioned the romance plots which are present for each of the main characters. These are forefront for parts of the book and fall away for other parts. For Tommy and Adele it is a major part of their chapters as it is for Miri later on. Desa tries her hardest to ignore her own romantic entanglements but fails spectacularly. Around 35-40% of the time the book reads like a romance first and fantasy-western second, though the romance is tied to the main plot in a couple of major ways.
Worldbuilding
Aladar, city of Field Binders, advanced technology, and closed off from the rest of the Eradian continent. An enclave of knowledgeable and snobbish people unwilling to share with the ‘primitives’ beyond their walls. A war was fought between the ‘primitives’ and the Aladri in which Aladar almost fell, hence the resentment. While revolvers and similar weaponry are common in Eradia, electricity is none existent and pack animals are still the primary means of transport. Conversely in Aladar there are radios, electricity, control over gravity and light, and much more thanks to Field Binding. A magic Desa and Marcus insist is merely technology but requires the use of Ether, a mysterious invisible energy force present in all things left over from creation by the goddesses Mercy and Vengeance, or so it is believed by the Aladri. The rest of the Eradian continent worship the Almighty, a god of strict laws and customs which the Aladri routinely ignore, break, and disrespect.
Field Binding is an odd magic system, well thought out and precise in its application similar to a Brandon Sanderson magic system, but its source and whether it is magic at all is contentious for the characters, and maybe for some readers who want clearer information. It begins as technology were infusing objects with different types of Ether generates an effect. A ring can be made to glow as a Light Source or create a bubble of darkness as Light Sink. A belt can be made to alter gravity’s pull as a Gravity Sink or Source to create the effect for the user of incredible leaps over buildings or faux-flight. There is control over heat and electricity too. This is all solidly written and makes for some excellent fight scenes and clever solutions to the problems faced. The source of the magic begins as technology, infusing objects with Ether, then shifts into a residue of creation - thus miracles or divine magic - and then into something else defined by its opposite, the Nether. A mysterious sort of divine power fuelled by emotion while the Ether is reached through meditation and serenity. This does add to the world and character building as we see even the Aladri are fallible and mistaken as to the nature of the world despite their advanced “technology.”
The Eradian continent is a vast landscape with various biomes. Desa starts her journey in small villages and forests but is soon in farmlands and the city of Ofalla where after a brief stay they head off into drylands crossing rivers to reach scrublands and finally the Gatharan Desert, a red and dusty place. The world is populated by a stiff and proper people, by farmers and aristocrats, by bankers and ruffians, by merchants and thieves. Yet as much as the world is believable and full at times it also feels empty and solely revolving around our heroes at others (and that’s before it is in fact empty in the desert). I enjoyed my time in Eradia as fantasy-western is an unusual combination that should be utilised by more authors but the depth of the world shown was too shallow and lacking richness. At times the characters observations seem either out of place, contrived, or so message laden as to break the immersion:
‘Desa resisted the urge to make a comment about men and their seemingly endless need to command respect through the construction of large, obtrusive monuments to their power. Only a money lender would choose to imbue a place of commerce with religious significance.’ (Chapter 10, p175 in my pdf copy with 500 pages.)
Yes it would be a bank that was made to look like a church, I agree Desa, only a money lender could be so crass but I am more interested in the sentence before. Does Desa honestly believe ornate, imposing buildings are merely ‘obtrusive’ and built only for men to show off? I don’t know, seems at odd view for someone from a grand and advanced city like Aladar. This may explain the lack of richness in the descriptions of the world; character doesn’t care so we don’t see it but that seems like a missed opportunity to world build for the reader. Yet there are multiple points of view of the world that read only a little differently. Many things are described as ‘grey’ even though that colour becomes important to the story later on. Other descriptions read more like a manual than a novel.
The fascinating and inviting world is there but if only it were shown in greater depth. More colour and grandiosity would go a long way to building the world of Eradia. What we are shown is necessary but not sufficient.
Throughout there are inconsistencies in names. An inn called ‘MacGregor’s’ on one page becomes ‘McGregor’s’ on the next and this sort of mistake repeats later when an inn referred to as ‘The Wagon Wheel’ becomes ‘Wheel and Wagon’ only later to revert to ‘The Wagon Wheel’ all within 20 pages. A third time is with the Molarin Mountains, far beyond the Gatharan Desert, or is it Molaran Mountains? I assume these are the same place but the inconsistency leaves me questioning. Not only that but I then wonder if I’ve missed others and whether R. S. Penney has done his due diligence in crafting his own world. Yes typos are inevitable, I’m sure I have some in this review that I haven’t caught, but ‘The Wagon Wheel’ to ‘Wheel and Wagon’ and back to ‘The Wagon Wheel’ is more than a typo, it suggests carelessness and I am sure that is not what Penney wants to show.
Characters
The characters are hard to like, or dislike for that matter. Which is fine, I don’t mind reading the exploits of arseholes. Hell pretty much every Red Rising character is an arsehole and I think that series has exceptional characters. In Bounty Hunter, however, there is something missing that makes them not quite arseholes but also not lovable. Exciting things are happening yet it can feel dull, an odd combination. Tommy is the most relatable, as he has no idea what’s going on most of the time like the reader, and Adele is the sweetest, until she isn’t and that’s a great ending for her, while Miri is inoffensive. The rest are fine, I guess. I have no strong feelings either way which isn’t a great result.
Desa enters the story a foreigner in a strange land. The land is the village of Sorla, an Almighty-fearing village with a dislike for witches and queer folk. Understandable, a warlock, by the name of Morley, recently passed through and by McGregor of McGregor’s account he was most unpleasant. Now a bounty hunter passes through wielding magic and faking her accent. I can see why the town is fearful and wants her to move on. She runs into Ducane, the town bully, and makes a mockery of his bravado by beating him senseless with magic. Doing what a good citizen would do she drags him off to the sheriff. All well and good. Ducane accuses her of witchcraft to which Desa lies that she isn’t a witch. A prudent measure that she renegades on moments later.
Desa sees Tommy and Sebastian in a cell and Sebastian has a slave brand on his cheek, his choice instead of the gallows that Tommy has chosen. The pair were caught sleeping with one another, a crime punishable by death. Extreme but that’s their law. Desa then orders Lenny and the sheriff to release them ‘On the authority of Desa nin Leean, Prime Field Binder of Aladar,’ and offers to take them away to Aladar, a place she hasn’t been for 11 years, to live in peace. What exactly did she expect to happen? Does she have authority outside of Aladar? No. It is well established Aladar is sealed shut and few venture out and those who do must blend in and live secretly. Okay then it’s a threat, not an order. Yet all that accomplishes is revealing she’s a witch, a fact she was trying to keep secret a few sentences ago. This is not the last time a Field Binder announces themselves as if the title carries weight. Desa does it and Marcus does it later on much further away from Aladar too. Sure it’s a “cool” line, or cringe depending on your tastes, but it is incredibly stupid to attract such unwanted attention when they know the folk don’t like witches and that Aladar was almost destroyed in a war with these ‘primitives’; a word Marcus and Desa use to describe the less technological showing their disdain for them.
Back to the jail house. We learn Tommy is Lenny’s brother and while Lenny doesn’t want to see his brother die the law’s the law and it comes from the Almighty. In another act that questions her wandering the lands for 11 years without attracting a mob the size of an army she says ‘Not everyone believes in your Almighty, sirs.’ Is she trying to be inconspicuous or not? When in Rome do as the Romans is a lesson Desa never learned and at this point I’m left wondering if she has spent the last 11 years freeing criminals and attempting to convert the populace of these small villages rather than live her life amongst them as a bounty hunter. Her threat and declaration predictably brings the sheriff’s wrath rather than obedience. Witchcraft is also a crime. A small fight ensues and Desa beats them up and forces Lenny to free Tommy and his lover, Sebastian. At first neither follows her and she worries about the enemies she has made all ‘to save a pair of primitive boys who were so inculcated with this backward little culture.’ I’m not sure why I should be enamoured by our would-be hero. Is it because I should take real life with me into this fictional world? That’s not how I read fiction. A fictional world operates separately from our own and it and its characters should be judged accordingly. Desa is close to villainous. She has taken pains not to kill anyone but she has lied, threatened, and attacked frightened and innocent people doing their jobs and enforcing their own laws. From the point of view of Lenny, a stand-up deputy sorrowful his brother broke the law, she is a villain.
Desa could be fighting evil in this encounter, and given the penalty for their crime of sleeping together is death or slavery, it is possible. The punishment is extreme even within the world of Eradia and Desa attacking these people is necessary to prevent that. By doing so, however, she is risking war between the ‘primitives’ and Aladar as well as ignoring the authority of the Synod, the leadership of Aladar. Desa is a self-righteous character and written like a power fantasy for the reader. Smiting bad guys and enforcing her truth on them. This sentiment extends to her own allies too, especially Marcus. If that appeals, then you will enjoy the book. I found that this first major scene where I, as the reader, were expected to carry a real world judgement into a fictional world jarring and soured me to Desa and the book in general. But even excluding that Desa does not follow her own advice. Later on she criticises Marcus for wanting to fight through a town, Fool’s Edge, that is rallying against them, to the point of shooting at our heroes, saying ‘You think we should attack frightened people? If we did that would we be any better than Bendarian.’ Now I would like to think this is character development but I’m sceptical. She attacks frightened people in Sorla and in the next village Glad Meadows (most of whom are unarmed in Glad Meadows) so she can escape. We learn from the people of Fool’s Edge that Bendarian killed three and threatened to kill more unless they refused Desa and her gang passage. Desa is right, to attack Fool’s Edge as Marcus suggests would be villainous and make them no better than Bendarian. If that is the case how does she square that with attacking Sheriff Cromwell and Deputy Lenny in Sorla and the townspeople of Glad Meadows? She didn’t kill anyone, true, but she did injure, in her fleeing from the law. We don’t know how Fool’s Edge approached Bendarian but given he looked more demonic than
August 15, 2019
Such a fun read! Desa is tough and no nonsense. She gathers a band of people to help her hunt down an evil man only to discover hes not the true evil. Action packed and fun!
May 26, 2020
Originally posted here.
Beware of the spoilers!
The Dish
Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is part-Western, part-fantasy novel. It isn’t set in the United States (or even on Earth) but it mirrors a Victorian-era level of technological sophistication and period dress. People ride on horseback, have revolvers and Stetsons, and say things like “y’all”, “missy” and “I reckon”. One of the characters is even a Southern belle but, then, lots of planets have a south, don’t they?
There’s also magic, or field-binding as it’s locally known. Characters skilled in field-binding can imbue mundane items with special abilities, usually related to existing natural forces, e.g. heat, gravity, force, etc.
The Sauce
The novel’s ‘magic’ system is by far it’s finest point. Myth holds that the world was created by two goddesses, Mercy and Vengeance. Mercy gives and Vengeance takes away. Along the same lines, all field-binding involves enchanting items to either give or take away certain types of energy. Example, a heat source creates heat, while a heat sink drains heat away.
The result is a limitless supply of enchanted weapons with a potentially inexhaustible combination of abilities. A bullet with a gravity source will drag objects towards it (it might even make someone implode when shot with it). A glove with a gravity source could be used to steal things from a distance. Penney has created a perfectly-balanced, simple, elegant magic system and has a lot of fun exploiting all the various ways it can be used throughout the novel.
The Sweet
Aside from the magic system, which again I adore, the characters are all well-realised and likeable. The eponymous Desa Kincaid is a classic Western gunslinger but, by whit of being female, lends an element of elegance to the usual macho shenanigans. She’s rough, tough, likes the ladies and has a good heart. She tries her hardest but isn’t right all the time and that, I think, is one of her greatest charms as a protagonist.
The supporting cast all have their part to play. Tommy provides an unenlightened eye to view Desa’s world through, Marcus is a testosteronal mansplainer who’ll never be the hero the way he wants to be, Miri is by turns a comic and a cold-blooded assassin. All of them are nice in their own way and I think the good guys should always be nice deep down.
The villains scale up from small-town ruffians to world-ending loons gradually through the story. Desa’s focus on her quarry drives the action nicely from start to finish, and the primary antagonist’s motive is not only interesting but downright achievable considering what he’s learned about the world. Everything builds to the finale where the focus changes, presumably setting up the next book. The twist is well-delivered and paced right up until the moment it drops. While not necessarily surprising, the actual details of it aren’t what you’d expect, which earns this story an extra point.
The Salty
Unfortunately, this story can be hard-reading at times. The prose lacks a certain polish and the writing can get bogged down in physical details. Characters are always folding and unfolding their arms, sitting down and standing up, or looking down at the floor and then up at the sky and then back down at the floor again, which distracts from the conversation or the action as it develops.
The writing is, at its heart, utilitarian. It’s not trying to be pretty. It’s trying to tell a story. When the fighting starts, it’s borderline cinematic. But it focuses too much on the visual and there’s more to a novel than action. Language can be beautiful through more than just the images it conveys.
I suppose I also have to dock a point because, of the three relationships that develop during the story, the only one that survives is the heterosexual one. The homosexual ones lead not only to break-ups but to outright betrayal. It would have been nice to see a gay couple hook up and stay together.
There was also the small matter of the story’s denouement. After the climax, the story should have wrapped at a fair clip. Instead, it continued on for a couple more chapters, introduced a new character and then wrapped. A slightly tighter ending would have been more satisfying.
The Aftertaste
This is a perfectly readable bit of fiction. It’s like an action movie you can play in your mind, absorbing all the fist- and gunfights blow-by-blow. It has its philosophical moments but, on the whole, it is a simple pleasure. If you’re a fan of classic fantasy and Westerns, and think you might like to sit for a while at the middle of that Venn diagram, I would recommend Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter to you.
Beware of the spoilers!
The Dish
Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is part-Western, part-fantasy novel. It isn’t set in the United States (or even on Earth) but it mirrors a Victorian-era level of technological sophistication and period dress. People ride on horseback, have revolvers and Stetsons, and say things like “y’all”, “missy” and “I reckon”. One of the characters is even a Southern belle but, then, lots of planets have a south, don’t they?
There’s also magic, or field-binding as it’s locally known. Characters skilled in field-binding can imbue mundane items with special abilities, usually related to existing natural forces, e.g. heat, gravity, force, etc.
The Sauce
The novel’s ‘magic’ system is by far it’s finest point. Myth holds that the world was created by two goddesses, Mercy and Vengeance. Mercy gives and Vengeance takes away. Along the same lines, all field-binding involves enchanting items to either give or take away certain types of energy. Example, a heat source creates heat, while a heat sink drains heat away.
The result is a limitless supply of enchanted weapons with a potentially inexhaustible combination of abilities. A bullet with a gravity source will drag objects towards it (it might even make someone implode when shot with it). A glove with a gravity source could be used to steal things from a distance. Penney has created a perfectly-balanced, simple, elegant magic system and has a lot of fun exploiting all the various ways it can be used throughout the novel.
The Sweet
Aside from the magic system, which again I adore, the characters are all well-realised and likeable. The eponymous Desa Kincaid is a classic Western gunslinger but, by whit of being female, lends an element of elegance to the usual macho shenanigans. She’s rough, tough, likes the ladies and has a good heart. She tries her hardest but isn’t right all the time and that, I think, is one of her greatest charms as a protagonist.
The supporting cast all have their part to play. Tommy provides an unenlightened eye to view Desa’s world through, Marcus is a testosteronal mansplainer who’ll never be the hero the way he wants to be, Miri is by turns a comic and a cold-blooded assassin. All of them are nice in their own way and I think the good guys should always be nice deep down.
The villains scale up from small-town ruffians to world-ending loons gradually through the story. Desa’s focus on her quarry drives the action nicely from start to finish, and the primary antagonist’s motive is not only interesting but downright achievable considering what he’s learned about the world. Everything builds to the finale where the focus changes, presumably setting up the next book. The twist is well-delivered and paced right up until the moment it drops. While not necessarily surprising, the actual details of it aren’t what you’d expect, which earns this story an extra point.
The Salty
Unfortunately, this story can be hard-reading at times. The prose lacks a certain polish and the writing can get bogged down in physical details. Characters are always folding and unfolding their arms, sitting down and standing up, or looking down at the floor and then up at the sky and then back down at the floor again, which distracts from the conversation or the action as it develops.
The writing is, at its heart, utilitarian. It’s not trying to be pretty. It’s trying to tell a story. When the fighting starts, it’s borderline cinematic. But it focuses too much on the visual and there’s more to a novel than action. Language can be beautiful through more than just the images it conveys.
I suppose I also have to dock a point because, of the three relationships that develop during the story, the only one that survives is the heterosexual one. The homosexual ones lead not only to break-ups but to outright betrayal. It would have been nice to see a gay couple hook up and stay together.
There was also the small matter of the story’s denouement. After the climax, the story should have wrapped at a fair clip. Instead, it continued on for a couple more chapters, introduced a new character and then wrapped. A slightly tighter ending would have been more satisfying.
The Aftertaste
This is a perfectly readable bit of fiction. It’s like an action movie you can play in your mind, absorbing all the fist- and gunfights blow-by-blow. It has its philosophical moments but, on the whole, it is a simple pleasure. If you’re a fan of classic fantasy and Westerns, and think you might like to sit for a while at the middle of that Venn diagram, I would recommend Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter to you.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 1, 2019
"Western Adventure Stiched with Romance and Refined with Magical Realism!"
The story has the best ingredients to bring the plot to life, from love, loss, betrayal to victories and magical realism.
Desa Kincaid is the finest of a protagonist I have ever encountered in a SCI-FI novel. Plus, a diehard villain (Morley) to challenge the invincible heroine.
I bet you this book is simply unputdownable!
The story has the best ingredients to bring the plot to life, from love, loss, betrayal to victories and magical realism.
Desa Kincaid is the finest of a protagonist I have ever encountered in a SCI-FI novel. Plus, a diehard villain (Morley) to challenge the invincible heroine.
I bet you this book is simply unputdownable!
July 5, 2021
Talented author
This isn’t a book I would have picked up if it weren’t for such positive interactions with the author. It’s not my style (I’m a first person POV romance reader) but the author is a talented writer, the book is descriptive, and the dialogue flows well (the ending of part one has perfect timing to it). If Sci-fi is your thing, this is an author worth trying out!
This isn’t a book I would have picked up if it weren’t for such positive interactions with the author. It’s not my style (I’m a first person POV romance reader) but the author is a talented writer, the book is descriptive, and the dialogue flows well (the ending of part one has perfect timing to it). If Sci-fi is your thing, this is an author worth trying out!
December 18, 2019
In this age of comic book and tent-pole action film mania (I am listening to the soundtrack of Thor: Ragnarok as I type), it is a given that talented authors who write cinematically with plenty of action and larger than life characters should enjoy increased readership.
R.S. Penney and his writing meet these criteria. Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is a fun, action-packed horse-ride from beginning to end.
Another area where I am seeing increased traction as a writer and reviewer is in genre-bending and mashups. Desa Kincaid is a Sci-Fi Western (sort of a Cowboys vs. Aliens meets Stephen King’s The Dark Tower) that succeeds because it employs both its genre Tropes with confidence and effect while smashing to bits just as many.
Sci-Fi and the traditional Western, when you deconstruct them, are excellent bedmates. They each traffic in religious and philosophical questions and metaphors and both are driven by Landscape. Vast, unexplored spaces. They pit humans not only against each other, but that very Landscape, and, like Fantasy, they feature the journey in the Hero’s Journey as a major part of the plot. Think of the success of Star Trek (pitched by Gene Roddenberry as “Wagon Train to the stars”), the cowboy archetype that is Han Solo, and the cult following enjoyed by Joss Whedon’s Firefly.
But don’t glean from this opening that Penney’s novel is more of the same. Like I said, he smashes as many Tropes as he employs.
Which makes for a provocative, page-turning read.
The eponymous heroine is damned near perfect—a consummate cowboy character, tough as nails, deeply committed to the Quest, and still beautiful and feminine. We cannot help but root for her.
Penney’s world is one steeped in the supernatural. Highly trained wizard-warriors harness and manipulate energy, replacing the roaring campfire with coins that produce the needed heat. This is a good example of the Trope employing/busting duality that I so enjoyed. We have the classic campfire scene… but without the campfire! Nothing lost, everything gained.
Enter another Trope: Desa is pursuing the villain in black at great cost to her and those around her. She has broken from her Order in order to do so. And she must assemble an unlikely team of comrades—some of whom could betray her at any moment—which calls to mind classics like The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Magnificent Seven. The stakes are higher than in your typical Western, thanks to the Sci-Fi aspects. In most Westerns, the villain wants to control a town. Here, it’s nothing less than the Universe.
Penney goes modern with this team of nontraditional players, which include a pair of homosexuals that Desa rescues from slavery and hanging; a lesbian who lifts Desa’s grief at a crucial moment in her journey; and Desa and others are bisexual. Although we haven’t seen much at all of this sexual freedom in the classic Western—or in Sci-Fi, though it’s increasing—it works seamlessly here. It also succeeds in smashing the male-dominated Sci-Fi and Western genres. The goddesses of this world are Mercy and Vengeance.
A powerful expression of what drives us to our best and worst.
Desa Kincaid also employs all the best “stranger comes to town” Tropes that fans of the Western have come to love in the Larry McMurtry novels and Clint Eastwood films of decades past. Distrustful townspeople, sassy bartenders and prostitutes, and law men and women who hurt as much as they help.
At the heart of Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is a deep spiritual quest. A classic fight between Good and Evil, Light and Dark. Spirituality and the harnessing of natural forces through the Ether are misperceived as witchcraft. And there’s a timely theme of men accusing powerful woman of consorting with Dark Forces in order to control those women and women accusing men of making things worse with their primary impulse to aggression. The witch trials of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries quickly come to mind.
Desa is committed to her craft. To the training of the mind and body through meditation and her relentless practice of craft. And Intention governs all. And there is also the aspect of Technology being mistaken for Magic, which recalls Sci-Fi great Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
I mentioned action. Desa Kincaid has plenty. Gunfights and supernatural battles. There are even zombies of a sort, and their scenes are where the action is most intense. Think of Red Dead Redemption in narrative form.
Desa Kincaid ends with a cliffhanger. There are certainly more questions to be answered. It’s said that Desa is a widow and intimated that she did not get on with her husband’s family.
Given that there are eight books in Penney’s Justice Keepers Saga, we might expect plenty more of the Sci-Fi meets Western stories of Desa and her comrades and adversaries in the future.
I for one am looking forward to reading more.
R.S. Penney and his writing meet these criteria. Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is a fun, action-packed horse-ride from beginning to end.
Another area where I am seeing increased traction as a writer and reviewer is in genre-bending and mashups. Desa Kincaid is a Sci-Fi Western (sort of a Cowboys vs. Aliens meets Stephen King’s The Dark Tower) that succeeds because it employs both its genre Tropes with confidence and effect while smashing to bits just as many.
Sci-Fi and the traditional Western, when you deconstruct them, are excellent bedmates. They each traffic in religious and philosophical questions and metaphors and both are driven by Landscape. Vast, unexplored spaces. They pit humans not only against each other, but that very Landscape, and, like Fantasy, they feature the journey in the Hero’s Journey as a major part of the plot. Think of the success of Star Trek (pitched by Gene Roddenberry as “Wagon Train to the stars”), the cowboy archetype that is Han Solo, and the cult following enjoyed by Joss Whedon’s Firefly.
But don’t glean from this opening that Penney’s novel is more of the same. Like I said, he smashes as many Tropes as he employs.
Which makes for a provocative, page-turning read.
The eponymous heroine is damned near perfect—a consummate cowboy character, tough as nails, deeply committed to the Quest, and still beautiful and feminine. We cannot help but root for her.
Penney’s world is one steeped in the supernatural. Highly trained wizard-warriors harness and manipulate energy, replacing the roaring campfire with coins that produce the needed heat. This is a good example of the Trope employing/busting duality that I so enjoyed. We have the classic campfire scene… but without the campfire! Nothing lost, everything gained.
Enter another Trope: Desa is pursuing the villain in black at great cost to her and those around her. She has broken from her Order in order to do so. And she must assemble an unlikely team of comrades—some of whom could betray her at any moment—which calls to mind classics like The Outlaw Josey Wales and The Magnificent Seven. The stakes are higher than in your typical Western, thanks to the Sci-Fi aspects. In most Westerns, the villain wants to control a town. Here, it’s nothing less than the Universe.
Penney goes modern with this team of nontraditional players, which include a pair of homosexuals that Desa rescues from slavery and hanging; a lesbian who lifts Desa’s grief at a crucial moment in her journey; and Desa and others are bisexual. Although we haven’t seen much at all of this sexual freedom in the classic Western—or in Sci-Fi, though it’s increasing—it works seamlessly here. It also succeeds in smashing the male-dominated Sci-Fi and Western genres. The goddesses of this world are Mercy and Vengeance.
A powerful expression of what drives us to our best and worst.
Desa Kincaid also employs all the best “stranger comes to town” Tropes that fans of the Western have come to love in the Larry McMurtry novels and Clint Eastwood films of decades past. Distrustful townspeople, sassy bartenders and prostitutes, and law men and women who hurt as much as they help.
At the heart of Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is a deep spiritual quest. A classic fight between Good and Evil, Light and Dark. Spirituality and the harnessing of natural forces through the Ether are misperceived as witchcraft. And there’s a timely theme of men accusing powerful woman of consorting with Dark Forces in order to control those women and women accusing men of making things worse with their primary impulse to aggression. The witch trials of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries quickly come to mind.
Desa is committed to her craft. To the training of the mind and body through meditation and her relentless practice of craft. And Intention governs all. And there is also the aspect of Technology being mistaken for Magic, which recalls Sci-Fi great Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
I mentioned action. Desa Kincaid has plenty. Gunfights and supernatural battles. There are even zombies of a sort, and their scenes are where the action is most intense. Think of Red Dead Redemption in narrative form.
Desa Kincaid ends with a cliffhanger. There are certainly more questions to be answered. It’s said that Desa is a widow and intimated that she did not get on with her husband’s family.
Given that there are eight books in Penney’s Justice Keepers Saga, we might expect plenty more of the Sci-Fi meets Western stories of Desa and her comrades and adversaries in the future.
I for one am looking forward to reading more.
December 24, 2022
Desa Kincaid has spent the last ten years in pursuit of a man whose experiments have killed over a dozen people. Kincaid is a bounty hunter, blessed with the power to transform ordinary objects into devastating weapons. In the novel, she travels through trading ports, backwater towns, forests, deserts and the haunted remains of a dead city.
The novel begins like a conventional western, with a bounty hunter chasing a criminal through a typical western town. Then it careens into talismans of magic, technological wizardry, and meta-ethics.
Desa Kincaid is a gifted Field-Binder of Aladar and embodies those twin attributes of toughness and vulnerability. Her quest to find a villain she's been chasing for ten years is the lattice work that supports the narrative.
In one of the most intriguing plot lines in the novel, Kincaid and her band of misfits come across a farm where everything had turned Grey, including the humans who used to run it and are now the mouthpiece of something so evil that the only way to kill them is to use some of the Grey bullets that are found along with them.
The fight scenes in the novel are part John Wick, part High Noon, and part Gandalf. It's Wyatt Earp, Aragorn, Galadriel, and Rand al' Thor of The Wheel Of Time with some Ripley from the Alien move series thrown in.
The narrative for such a long novel sustains the 500 plus pages. Penny favors long, delicious adjectival phrases and mood-enhancing nouns. Credit here to the author because despite the multiple threads he has woven into the novel, the tale never seems disjointed, incomplete or muddled.
The author, R.S. Penny, gives us an explanation of his fascination with magic and immersive world with this brief bio: "I grew up in Southern Ontario, and I've been writing fiction since I was 16. When I first started out, I planned on writing epic fantasy in the tradition of J.R.R. Tolkien or Robert Jordan, but I quickly discovered that I don't have the patience to thrive in that genre. I've never been all that fond of describing long treks through the countryside. So I took the characters I love and brought them into a modern setting."
Then Penny continues with a statement that will upset those who self-righteously claim the mantle of traditional values and ideological purity.
"I've always been an advocate of diversity in fiction. I remember noting, at the age of sixteen," Penny continues in his bio. "One big problem in epic fantasy is the fact that all the characters are white. So I try to create a cast populated by people of all genders, ethnicities and orientations"
Penny has written two other novels to complete the trilogy. Bullet And Bones and Face of The Void.
Some reviews of this novel have taken issue with its inclusion of LGBTQ+ lifestyles and lack of Christian relevance. By definition, a novel that mixes magic with an immersive world created by the author will be world building based on the writer's beliefs, aspirations, and hopes. The novel may not match a few readers' expectations, who pray that the novel's universe will match their belief systems exactly. Moreover, the inclusion of magic as a higher power in any universe precludes ecclesiastical preachiness.
This novel isn't only gender bending, but genre bending. The craft here is the seamless mixture of western folklore, the ontological aspects of magic, the manipulation of technology, tolerance as an ethical virtue, and secular morality.
July 16, 2021
Disclaimer: The author offered me a review copy in exchange for an honest review but I read the book on Kindle Unlimited instead.
R.S. Penney’s Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter combines elements of high fantasy with the classic Western. It tells the story of Desa, a bounty hunting Field Binder from the city of Aladar. Field Binders are trained to manipulate the ether, the magical force that permeates the world. Aladar is a pseudo-modern metropolis surrounded by proxies of Gold Rush-era towns, where superstition and brutal justice are the order of the day.
For the last ten years, Desa has been pursuing a rogue Field Binder, alone except for her horse Midnight, focused entirely on her mission. In Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter, the first in a series, that isolation is broken by Desa meeting a few new companions on her journey.
There’s much more to this book than a straightforward chase though. Desa’s world is both familiar and strange; Penney uses those Western tropes as a springboard from which to craft a fun, action packed story. Penney’s magic system is simple to understand without been simplistic. Field Binding allows its practitioners the power to graft elemental forces onto everyday objects. This being a Western setting, we see gravity and heat manipulating powers tied to pistols, bullets and belt buckles, giving the Field Binders wuxia-like powers: they leap across buildings, make time stand still, even freeze bullets in mid-air. And, most practically, use a coin to boil water.
Despite this impressive array of abilities, Desa and the other Field Binders never feel overpowered. Instead, Binding allows the characters to engage in enjoyable over-the-top escapades. The many fights are a particular stand out. R.S. Penney has a real talent for writing action sequences and I found myself thoroughly drawn in by the pacey battles.
Desa is the most richly developed of the cast. She is a capable, flawed hero who has spent most of her life on an obsessive quest, giving her a skewed perspective on the world that is nicely contrasted by the ragtag bunch of misfits she gathers around her. Her reasons for pursing her target are revealed gradually as the narrative progresses, bringing with it a revelation of it more depth than I was expecting.
I can’t recommend this book enough. R.S. Penney’s prose is strong and engaging. The setting is a lovingly detailed world that I thoroughly enjoyed spending my time in – despite its horrors. The storytelling is tight and the characters well-drawn. Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is a welcome addition to the weird west genre.
A full review is available on my blog https://cbripleybooks.wordpress.com/
R.S. Penney’s Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter combines elements of high fantasy with the classic Western. It tells the story of Desa, a bounty hunting Field Binder from the city of Aladar. Field Binders are trained to manipulate the ether, the magical force that permeates the world. Aladar is a pseudo-modern metropolis surrounded by proxies of Gold Rush-era towns, where superstition and brutal justice are the order of the day.
For the last ten years, Desa has been pursuing a rogue Field Binder, alone except for her horse Midnight, focused entirely on her mission. In Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter, the first in a series, that isolation is broken by Desa meeting a few new companions on her journey.
There’s much more to this book than a straightforward chase though. Desa’s world is both familiar and strange; Penney uses those Western tropes as a springboard from which to craft a fun, action packed story. Penney’s magic system is simple to understand without been simplistic. Field Binding allows its practitioners the power to graft elemental forces onto everyday objects. This being a Western setting, we see gravity and heat manipulating powers tied to pistols, bullets and belt buckles, giving the Field Binders wuxia-like powers: they leap across buildings, make time stand still, even freeze bullets in mid-air. And, most practically, use a coin to boil water.
Despite this impressive array of abilities, Desa and the other Field Binders never feel overpowered. Instead, Binding allows the characters to engage in enjoyable over-the-top escapades. The many fights are a particular stand out. R.S. Penney has a real talent for writing action sequences and I found myself thoroughly drawn in by the pacey battles.
Desa is the most richly developed of the cast. She is a capable, flawed hero who has spent most of her life on an obsessive quest, giving her a skewed perspective on the world that is nicely contrasted by the ragtag bunch of misfits she gathers around her. Her reasons for pursing her target are revealed gradually as the narrative progresses, bringing with it a revelation of it more depth than I was expecting.
I can’t recommend this book enough. R.S. Penney’s prose is strong and engaging. The setting is a lovingly detailed world that I thoroughly enjoyed spending my time in – despite its horrors. The storytelling is tight and the characters well-drawn. Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is a welcome addition to the weird west genre.
A full review is available on my blog https://cbripleybooks.wordpress.com/
December 8, 2019
A wonderful story, a unique magic system and technology blend, and above all a sassy heroine with nifty abilities; what’s not to love?
The story follows the adventures of Desa Kincaid, a smart-ass bounty hunter chasing her nemesis in a western-like world. And what Western doesn’t have a horse? Desa rides on Midnight and gathers along the way her own band of misfits.
I read a lot of fantasy ( in case you haven’t noticed) and I often come across the same old tropes, which I don’t mind as long as the story is entertaining. But when an author creates new mythology and new superpowers I have to do a little happy dance. In this story, Desa Kincaid is a field binder. She can absorb energy from the Ether (that no one knows what is, but everyone can train to feel it) and infuse objects with this power and use them as tools or weapons.
Also, I was impressed with the cinematic style R.S. Penney used when describing fight scenes. I’d like to see this book turned into a movie!
Due to her energy infused objects, Desa is one of the best bounty hunters and her reputation precedes her.
The man looked her up and down, and his face tightened, his thick, black eyebrows drawn together. “I knew it!” he snapped, though his voice never rose much beyond a soft whisper. “You have the reek of a bounty hunter on you. Very few women hunters in these parts, and only one as looks like you. You’re Desa Kincaid: the Widow.”
The Ether the field binders use to harvest energy is what’s left of one of the goddesses that created the world.
“The Almighty’s a myth,” she said. “As I told you, this world was created by two goddesses: Mercy, and Vengeance. Mercy to give energy and Vengeance to take it, and Field Binding a balance between them.”
Read the complete review here: https://www.summonfantasy.com/book-re...
The story follows the adventures of Desa Kincaid, a smart-ass bounty hunter chasing her nemesis in a western-like world. And what Western doesn’t have a horse? Desa rides on Midnight and gathers along the way her own band of misfits.
I read a lot of fantasy ( in case you haven’t noticed) and I often come across the same old tropes, which I don’t mind as long as the story is entertaining. But when an author creates new mythology and new superpowers I have to do a little happy dance. In this story, Desa Kincaid is a field binder. She can absorb energy from the Ether (that no one knows what is, but everyone can train to feel it) and infuse objects with this power and use them as tools or weapons.
Also, I was impressed with the cinematic style R.S. Penney used when describing fight scenes. I’d like to see this book turned into a movie!
Due to her energy infused objects, Desa is one of the best bounty hunters and her reputation precedes her.
The man looked her up and down, and his face tightened, his thick, black eyebrows drawn together. “I knew it!” he snapped, though his voice never rose much beyond a soft whisper. “You have the reek of a bounty hunter on you. Very few women hunters in these parts, and only one as looks like you. You’re Desa Kincaid: the Widow.”
The Ether the field binders use to harvest energy is what’s left of one of the goddesses that created the world.
“The Almighty’s a myth,” she said. “As I told you, this world was created by two goddesses: Mercy, and Vengeance. Mercy to give energy and Vengeance to take it, and Field Binding a balance between them.”
Read the complete review here: https://www.summonfantasy.com/book-re...
October 4, 2020
Was prompted to read this book's sequel, Bullets And Bones: A Sci-Fi Western, by the author's manager with an offer for a free copy. Though I declined the copy, I decided to give the series a shot, as I'm always up for a new reason to expand my collection of bookshelves.
The Good
The book doesn't waste a lot of time getting into the action, which can make it easier for those of us who perhaps aren't into Tolkien-esque world-building. Furthermore, the author's choice of pace for the action feels very natural, leaving you feeling as though you're in the thick of things as they happen. Finally, the author also tends to re-use certain elements, especially during action sequences, which helps you build a more consistent mental image of the moves the players are making.
The Perhaps Bad
While the pace is very satisfying during action sequences, that same pace is applied to portions of the plot development that leave them feeling broken or disjointed. In fairness they never feel so much so that they are hard to follow, but if you DO prefer more consistent and cohesive building of subplots, the pace can feel jarring at times. Additionally, though the re-use of elements has it's benefits, there is also periodically the feeling that you are simply reading repetitive text which might encourage the tendency to skim sections, even within important sections of the book.
Final Thoughts
Overall the book was pleasing. I'm interested in the story enough that I have no apprehension in picking up the sequel, and it doesn't feel so similar to other plots that I feel bored in the presented story.
The Good
The book doesn't waste a lot of time getting into the action, which can make it easier for those of us who perhaps aren't into Tolkien-esque world-building. Furthermore, the author's choice of pace for the action feels very natural, leaving you feeling as though you're in the thick of things as they happen. Finally, the author also tends to re-use certain elements, especially during action sequences, which helps you build a more consistent mental image of the moves the players are making.
The Perhaps Bad
While the pace is very satisfying during action sequences, that same pace is applied to portions of the plot development that leave them feeling broken or disjointed. In fairness they never feel so much so that they are hard to follow, but if you DO prefer more consistent and cohesive building of subplots, the pace can feel jarring at times. Additionally, though the re-use of elements has it's benefits, there is also periodically the feeling that you are simply reading repetitive text which might encourage the tendency to skim sections, even within important sections of the book.
Final Thoughts
Overall the book was pleasing. I'm interested in the story enough that I have no apprehension in picking up the sequel, and it doesn't feel so similar to other plots that I feel bored in the presented story.
May 3, 2022
Desa Kincaid: Bounty Hunter is the first book in this surprising mixed genre series. It’s a young adult novel that has a bit of fantasy and western meets post-apocalyptic world with a little sprinkle of sci-fi. We begin with Desa, our titled protagonist on her 10 year chase after the big bad, Benedarian.
Although there was an unpredictable combination of genres, it actually worked well together. The way R.S. Penney utilized each piece to weave a perfectly blended story, was welcomely surprising. I am not a huge fan of most of these genres, but the journey pulled me in. I was able to connect with the characters and that is what pushed the story forward.
With a largely diverse cast of characters, there was someone for everyone. I loved that there was a huge focus on the diversity of sexuality, relationships, acceptance, and love. Above that, there were so many themes throughout the story that expressed things like the primitive vs sophisticated, witchery vs religion, and so on.
Although the overall story was great, it had a few things that slowed me down. With the repetitiveness of explaining Field Binding every time it was used, it became redundant and I started to gloss over things. Rather than explaining throughout the novel, building on top of what is already there could have enhanced the experience.
R. S. Penny was able to bring things into the forefront of the readers’ minds and set things up to continue throughout the rest of the series.
Remember, “To Field Bind, you must learn to commune with the Ether.” -Desa Kincaid
Eunhye Necee
Official Reviewer
The Book Dragon
Although there was an unpredictable combination of genres, it actually worked well together. The way R.S. Penney utilized each piece to weave a perfectly blended story, was welcomely surprising. I am not a huge fan of most of these genres, but the journey pulled me in. I was able to connect with the characters and that is what pushed the story forward.
With a largely diverse cast of characters, there was someone for everyone. I loved that there was a huge focus on the diversity of sexuality, relationships, acceptance, and love. Above that, there were so many themes throughout the story that expressed things like the primitive vs sophisticated, witchery vs religion, and so on.
Although the overall story was great, it had a few things that slowed me down. With the repetitiveness of explaining Field Binding every time it was used, it became redundant and I started to gloss over things. Rather than explaining throughout the novel, building on top of what is already there could have enhanced the experience.
R. S. Penny was able to bring things into the forefront of the readers’ minds and set things up to continue throughout the rest of the series.
Remember, “To Field Bind, you must learn to commune with the Ether.” -Desa Kincaid
Eunhye Necee
Official Reviewer
The Book Dragon
August 21, 2019
Desa Kincaid is a strong and multifaceted woman who has all too human failings. The book strikes me as an allegory of the end of the world and battle between good and evil, with an ending indicating the complicated world of the gods, devil, and destiny - which is hinted at throughout the novel. When I finished the book, there was a sense of the Garden of Eden or a new beginning, and it seems it could be part of a series.
A few love scenes are delicately written and the LGBTQ elements of the story cleverly drawn and left mainly to the imagination. The fight scenes are marvelously choreographed.
Desa's late husband is given substance with a few deft hints at their relationship and his supportive character. I found Marcus to be an intriguing character but broadly sketched and perhaps as a supporting actor could be given more attention and credence in a later book.
The portrayal of magic as simply advanced technology and not understood by the local populace, thus feared, could be very true of human nature. What we accept as commonplace now would be magic to our ancestors or a society untouched by modern civilization. Penney uses his education in mathematics and statistics, a science education, to explain the apparent miracles that take place through the use of Field Binding and the Ether. Having the Ether's dark side portrayed as the Nether is a nice play on words.
Different points of view at times throughout the story are well written, being difficult to do, and not generally recommended. But Penney draws the entire story in a sweeping vista that could be either Biblical or a sci-fi Western fairytale!
A few love scenes are delicately written and the LGBTQ elements of the story cleverly drawn and left mainly to the imagination. The fight scenes are marvelously choreographed.
Desa's late husband is given substance with a few deft hints at their relationship and his supportive character. I found Marcus to be an intriguing character but broadly sketched and perhaps as a supporting actor could be given more attention and credence in a later book.
The portrayal of magic as simply advanced technology and not understood by the local populace, thus feared, could be very true of human nature. What we accept as commonplace now would be magic to our ancestors or a society untouched by modern civilization. Penney uses his education in mathematics and statistics, a science education, to explain the apparent miracles that take place through the use of Field Binding and the Ether. Having the Ether's dark side portrayed as the Nether is a nice play on words.
Different points of view at times throughout the story are well written, being difficult to do, and not generally recommended. But Penney draws the entire story in a sweeping vista that could be either Biblical or a sci-fi Western fairytale!
January 28, 2023
Thank you to the author and team for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Desa, a bounty hunter, is skilled in the ways of Field Binding, a form of magic. She's on the hunt for her target, following after him from town to town, always slipping through her grasp. One day on his trail, she rides into a small town. After a trip to the sheriff's office, she liberates Tommy and Sebastian, who join her on her quest to track her nemesis down.
Now, the idea of a fantasy western story piqued my interest. I wasn't sure how that would play out, and I was interested to find out for myself! Desa Kincaid herself is a very strong female lead, something I always enjoy. She can handle herself and also has a very strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. Within the first few chapters we see Desa fighting and freeing Tommy and Sebastian from jail, where they were locked up for having a homosexual relationship. I liked that this story included LGBTQ+ characters, like Tommy, Sebastian and Desa herself. It's refreshing to see in a western setting.
The first couple of chapters were a little slow reading for me, but as the story unfolded I was finding I went through the book a lot quicker!
I thought the magic system in this setting was very interesting. It's hard for me to describe, but Field Binding and the Ether seems to be something you can connect with, you can feel it, think about it and manipulate it. Which is something you don't usually see when reading about magic.
Overall, a very quick and enjoyable read in a genre I haven't read before!
4/5
Desa, a bounty hunter, is skilled in the ways of Field Binding, a form of magic. She's on the hunt for her target, following after him from town to town, always slipping through her grasp. One day on his trail, she rides into a small town. After a trip to the sheriff's office, she liberates Tommy and Sebastian, who join her on her quest to track her nemesis down.
Now, the idea of a fantasy western story piqued my interest. I wasn't sure how that would play out, and I was interested to find out for myself! Desa Kincaid herself is a very strong female lead, something I always enjoy. She can handle herself and also has a very strong sense of what is right and what is wrong. Within the first few chapters we see Desa fighting and freeing Tommy and Sebastian from jail, where they were locked up for having a homosexual relationship. I liked that this story included LGBTQ+ characters, like Tommy, Sebastian and Desa herself. It's refreshing to see in a western setting.
The first couple of chapters were a little slow reading for me, but as the story unfolded I was finding I went through the book a lot quicker!
I thought the magic system in this setting was very interesting. It's hard for me to describe, but Field Binding and the Ether seems to be something you can connect with, you can feel it, think about it and manipulate it. Which is something you don't usually see when reading about magic.
Overall, a very quick and enjoyable read in a genre I haven't read before!
4/5
November 22, 2020
This book has a medievil, steampunk vibe. One society, the Aladri, has the technology of the steampunk era, and the other is still very lost in the small establishments and horse transportation age. The Aladri have found a way to connect with the Ether and bind aura to objects making them “magical”. I rather enjoyed this world’s build and backstory. With it’s interesting take on the two groups of people, and the elements surrounding their world, I have found this book to be quite refreshing in the fantasy genre. I wouldn’t mind living in this world, after they have dealt with Bendarian of course.
A lot of readers are not a fan of head hopping, and neither am I. In this story, there is a lot of changing of perspective from scene to scene, or as a scene progresses. It can become quite confusing at times, but overall, I don’t mind it. R.S. Penney is great at creating differences in his characters and their thinking patterns which is a cool effect as you read. At times it feels unnecessary, and a little over done, but in other moments, he couldn’t have written it better.
This is a high action, lots of fighting, fast moving book. It definitely feels as though it is long, especially having 332 pages printed, divided into two parts, and the several events that happen within just a day in the book, but it is worth the read. I’d rate this book at a four star. I look forward to reading the second book, Desa Kincaid: Bullets and Bones.
Lily Ashtree
A lot of readers are not a fan of head hopping, and neither am I. In this story, there is a lot of changing of perspective from scene to scene, or as a scene progresses. It can become quite confusing at times, but overall, I don’t mind it. R.S. Penney is great at creating differences in his characters and their thinking patterns which is a cool effect as you read. At times it feels unnecessary, and a little over done, but in other moments, he couldn’t have written it better.
This is a high action, lots of fighting, fast moving book. It definitely feels as though it is long, especially having 332 pages printed, divided into two parts, and the several events that happen within just a day in the book, but it is worth the read. I’d rate this book at a four star. I look forward to reading the second book, Desa Kincaid: Bullets and Bones.
Lily Ashtree
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