My Reviews Of . . .
Black City Saint
Nick Medea is an investigator
of things that go bump in the night. While that might sound corny, it isn’t.
Far from it! For Nick is a man with a history extending back 1600 years.
He’s the guardian of The Gate, the supernatural barrier which
is the only thing standing between the world of mankind and their worst
nightmare: the Wyld. The thing is, during the Prohibition Era of the 1920’s,
the Gate just so happens to be anchored in Chicago, the Black City, where the
temperance movement, the Mob, ethnic distrust and precincts full of cops on the
take, face off against a growing instability that makes each day a trial to
deal with.
An apt analogy, especially
when you consider another, more insidious influence that fans the flames of
unrest spreading like wildfire throughout the city: the aforementioned Wyld.
Double-dealing; betrayal; half-truths
and outright deception. Nick has to deal with it all, and THAT’s from those who
are supposed to be on his side! How does he juggle the turmoil created by these
warring factions while averting an all-out disaster that will change both
worlds forever?
Find out in this fast-paced,
action packed noir fantasy that blends the gritty, down-n-dirty gangster-era of
Chicago with the macabre, metaphysical terror represented by the altered
reality the coming of Feirie would bring. Great stuff, and great fun.
Remember, Public Enemy No 1
isn’t always the guy holding a Tommy Gun.
The Rook
Based on the novel by Daniel
O’Malley, the Rook follows the exploits of the Checquy, a secret agency within
the British government that protect the public from threats of a ‘supernatural’
kind. And to do that, they employ some pretty uncanny powers of their own.
As the title hints, the
Checquy use chess-related codenames: King – Lady Farrier (Joely Richardson);
Queen – Conrad Grantchester (Adrian Lester); the Rooks – the Gestalt
quadruplets, Eliza, Robert and the twins Alex and Teddy (Catherine Steadman,
Ronan Raftery & Jon Fletcher), and our main character, Rook Myfanwy Thomas
(Emma Greenwell).
The story begins with Myfanwy
regaining consciousness after a traumatic event. She’s not only lost her
memory, but she’s surrounded by dead bodies. Fortunately, she seemed to be
aware trouble was coming, because the ‘alternative’ her left a series of clues,
in the form of a red pill/blue pill scenario, to help her make a choice.
She can either start a new
life away from the shadowy world of international psychic espionage and
meta-human trafficking, or regain details of her former occupation and
reintegrate as a frontline operative.
To help you (and the
mind-wiped version of Myfanwy) understand what’s going on, there are a series
of detailed video recordings and helpful flashbacks that unravel the mystery.
Is she simply a cold-hearted
killer who wants to wipe the blood from her hands, or is there more to it?
Betrayal. Steamy affairs.
Questionable allegiances. It’s all there, along with a doozy of a ‘whodunit to
her’ teaser that holds this ambitious project together pretty well without
taking itself too seriously.
I for one, hope the second
series doesn’t take too long.
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