A Multiverse of Suspense!

See my Review of. . .

Bloodthirsty

This is the first book I’ve read by Fred Wiehe, and I have to say from the outset, it won’t be the last. And really, for those who know me and my background, it’s easy to see why. As a former cop and astrophysics geek, this story has my name written all over it.

And the blurb helps you see why I’m so excited:

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Do multiverses exist? And if they do, does a duplicate of each of us exist in every reality? These are questions Lieutenant Sean (Mac) McGrath and Sergeant Randy Dexter must come to terms with to solve a murder and stop the widespread use of a new psychotropic drug dubbed Bloodshot. 

Almost simultaneously, a young woman is murdered in Haight-Ashbury and this dangerous drug hits San Francisco’s streets. Taken through the retina and optic nerve, Bloodshot degrades and disrupts the neural network and central nervous system, turning people into crazed killers and bloodthirsty cannibals. Their investigation quickly takes them down a strange path that borders on science fact and science fiction, a path that reveals horrors more akin to nightmares than the real world, a path where they both begin to doubt their own already fragile sanity.

For if they are to believe the mounting evidence before them, they must also believe their prime suspect invented a device that can open portals to parallel universes, a device that enables him to travel from one realty to another and murder his ex-girlfriend time and time again—because apparently once just isn’t enough.

 

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So, what did I think?

Well, first off, I loved it! Bloodlust is built on a great premise; it’s skillfully executed; the characters are as flawed as they are relatable; the action is delivered in wonderful energetic pulses that keep you tuning the page; and the plotline is liberally sprinkled with clues that allow you to anticipate how the story might develop. It’s superb!

It reminded me is some respect of David Walton’s Superposition, a story where advanced physics and multiverses go awry, and I can’t wait to see how things develop in the next story.
(And YOU should get to know this story too).

Review Link

 See my Review of. . .

Dark Sins

In this final book of Marcus Abshire’s Ways of the Warlock series, it looks as if Jakobus Shaw has finally bitten off more than he can chew.
As the blurb highlights:

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 I’m not proud of my past, and I’m done running away from it.

The dark elf D’oreal, Lord of Endless Night and my ex-girlfriend’s father is trying to unleash a hellish nightmare on the entire world. I have to say, I don’t think that’s a good idea.

He wants my help and he’s threatening to kill my friends if I don’t give it to him. Shareal, the dark elf from a past I can’t remember, wants to stop her father’s mad scheme but trusting dark elves isn’t something a sane person would do.

I’m used to working alone, but if I want to keep a dark god of madness and death from plunging the world into the black void of insanity, I’ll need to call in a few favors.

Elder gods don’t like it when a mere human not only forsakes their power but escapes their punishment for doing so. I’ve pissed off a lot of people, monsters and creatures born from darkness, but spitting in the eye of a god is damn foolish, even for me.

My past is clouded, my future unclear, yet one thing I know for sure is that I’m not going to let anything happen to the people I care about, even if it kills me.

*************

Yes, the past seems to have caught up with Jakobus, culminating in the mother of all stand-offs. One that nobody will walk away from.

But as we’ve come to learn, this former warlock has something of a stubborn, defiant streak. And he didn’t survive – and indeed escape – from the deep by giving up when all seems lost. Perhaps his tenacity will see him through?

One thing’s for sure, this final chapter of the series is highly entertaining. Once again the cast comes together to deliver a high-octane performance where the dialogue, humor and action all combine to set your world on fire and keep it burning to the last page. But as to who lives and who dies? Ah, you’ll have to find out for yourselves. But it truly is an epic conclusion.

I’ve really enjoyed reading this series and will be sorry to say goodbye. And isn’t that what we all want from our readers?

Amazon Review

 If You Build It - They Will Come

(And They Do . . . You'll See)

I’ve been a fan of Jeff Crawford for a few years now. I’m particularly drawn to the mood he manages to encapsulate within whatever topic he writes about. So, when I spotted this recent release, I just had to check it out. And I was glad I did.
Apart from one of the best openings scenes I’ve ever read, the blurb only hints at the malevolence, simmering away beneath the surface. . .

See for yourself:

*****

Appearances can be deceiving. One of the most serene and idyllic settings houses a secret that is nearly unthinkable and unimaginable.

Rob knew something was wrong, had known it for a while, but even though he waited to be told of it, his wife wasn’t saying anything. Jennifer knew why she was acting as she had been, but she was keeping it to herself, just as she had been for nearly two years.

In an effort to put things back to right, Rob shows uncharacteristic initiative and plans a three-day weekend for his wife and himself. It is his hope and prayer that the peaceful and gentle surroundings of Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley will lend themselves to be the help he needs in repairing whatever has gone wrong between them. Assuring his wife’s happiness is all he’s ever wanted to do. Now, he just needs to know how. But a much bigger problem lies in front of them. There are secrets in the valley, secrets that no one outside the small community that Rob and Jennifer find themselves stranded in are remotely aware of. Beneath the pastoral setting lies something dark and sinister that has been growing and evolving for more than a century and a half.

Relying on the kindness of strangers is all well and good, unless no kindness abides within those strangers. Little things that claw and scratch at Jennifer’s mind tell her continually that all is not as it appears to be, but when the pieces start to come together and make sense, it is already too late. The rot that surrounds the small community has, without Rob’s and Jennifer’s knowledge, already enveloped them, and made its plans for the couple.

Every detail must be taken note of, every word has to be paid attention to if an escape is to ever be possible, but more than that, trust in each other becomes a necessary evil. But can they ever trust each other ever again, after Jennifer’s own dark secrets are revealed?

Fields of Ghosts exposes things that were never meant to see the light of day. Secrets that the community kept, secrets that Jennifer kept. Coupled together, will it prove to ruin completely everything that all within the small community, including Rob and Jennifer, have ever known?

*****

In keeping with the blurb, I will also do my best to give nothing away regarding the plot. That’ll be for you to work out as you read along. And you will. Believe me, as Crawford sprinkles the breadcrumbs for you to follow, and in doing so, not only sets the scene for what’s to come, but allows a brooding menace and an ever-present sub current to begin building and bugging away in the back of your mind. Something that calls to that part in all of us, and warns us . . . Hang on, something’s not right here.

 

Rob and Jennifer are an average couple, whose marriage has lost some of its original spark. In an effort to remind each other that they have something worth working for, Rob decides to plan a romantic weekend away. Something, he hopes will revive their flagging spirits.

But the thing is, he never actually gets to find out if it will work or not, because they get lost on the way there, and, the car breaks down.

 

What follows is the stuff of creepy nightmares. You know the kinda thing; it’s an iron fist in velvet glove scenario, where those who seem to be helpful and friendly, aren’t. And it all starts out so amicably and insidiously pleasant.

And that’s where Crawford comes into his own, for he takes that seemingly innocent situation, and adds a sickly-sweet, too-good-to-be-true tickle that warns you from the outset. There’s an agenda here. An agenda so well hidden, that its development and revelation are all too plausible.

You can’t quite believe it. It’s repulsive, yet at the same time, strangely hypnotic. You just need to test the water that little bit more – just to see if your suspicions are true – and then you’ll walk away. . .

Only to find out, too late, you’re in a web from which you’ll never emerge.

 

And that’s what makes reading Field of Ghosts so darn enjoyable: The tone is outstanding. The sense of hidden menace is tantalizing. And you end up wanting to know, just what the heck these people are up to?

And the superb twist, right at the end? Absolute magic.

 

Dare you miss it!

Amazon Review

 It's In Your Hands

See my Latest Review Of. . .

Dark Fate

I’m sure we can all relate to those nights of revelry lost to drink, where the carousing continued into the wee hours and you wake up the next day, remembering hardly any of it. But what happens when you discover huge chunks of your memory have been taken by a stunning dark elf, apparently, with your consent in order to . . . what? Your guess is as good as mine. Why? Because you can’t remember and no one will tell you, THAT’s why!

Ah, such things are just another day to Jakobus Shaw, as he highlights:

*************

I’ve been through a lot in the last few years.

I escaped from the Deep, a prison of eternal torment, fought living nightmares, stopped wars, and banished an immortal dark phoenix in the eternal abyss of an Old One’s fathomless mind. All while making some damn good friends and allies along the way.

I’ve done all this and yet, when Shareal, a dark elf, a creature of beauty and danger, returns from the past I didn’t even know I had, I can’t help but be afraid.

Shareal needs the safety of my bar to house a meeting of the world’s most powerful and treacherous dark elves. I don’t want to do it, but the elf drives a hard bargain, so…I better put out the good silver.

Dealing with dark elves is never a wise thing to do, but I’ve never been renowned for my intelligence. They say blood is thicker than water, but for the dark elves, power is the only true family they have ever known.

I tried to run from my past, tried to bury it and hope it stayed dead, but the seeds I planted long ago are growing fruit and it’s time I started reaping what I sowed.

 

*************

Yes, Marcus Abshire presents us with a corker of an adventure in Dark Fate, as the past begins to catch up with Jakobus in ways he can’t begin to comprehend. And that’s the thing when you’ve been involved with the deepest, darkest magic. It never goes away, and the consequence of wielding it can turn up out of the blue when you least expect it.

The thing is – and without giving anything of the plot away – why now? What has Jakobus been involved with in the past that now obligates him to a certain course of action that may not only result in his own death, but the end of everything he holds dear? And why are the dark elves so certain in his compliance?

Yes, not everything is as first appears, and as Jakobus begins to navigate this latest path of magical eggshells, he must try and unravel what it is about his abilities that everyone seems to want a piece of.

As always, we have a roister-doister, action-packed, mayhem filled adventure, where our protagonist’s penchant for getting down and dirty often gets in the way of making swift progress. But THAT’s where the fun lies. Because when the fate of the world lies in your hands, who wants boring and easy? Blunt humor; great dialogue; superb interaction between characters; thrills & spills galore. It’s all there, waiting for you to turn the next page.

 

Amazon Review

 

Into the Vortex – Book 2 of The Vortex of Worlds Series

By – Charles E. Gannon

 

I’ve been a fan of Chuck Gannon for quite a while, having discovered his Caine Riordan novels about ten years ago. The time and effort he puts into his world building really pays off in the substance of his writing. So, when I discovered he was branching out into fantasy, I just had to take a look.

The first book of his The Vortex of Worlds Series – This Broken World – was an absolute treat to read, and you can find out what I thought in the link provided at the end of this review.

Into the Vortex continues Druadaen’s adventures– and indeed, those of his erstwhile companions – as they try to discover the disparities riddling the land in which he lives, and especially, why knowledge of the truth might prove so fatal.

 

Here’s the blurb:

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A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing . . . but knowing the full truth might get you killed.

Druadaen, Outrider for the once-mighty Dunarran Consentium, has proven that there are irreconcilable contradictions between magic and physics on Arrdanc, the world of his birth. And what is his reward for this important discovery, made against all odds and at considerable personal risk? Exile—organized and compelled by nervous temple hierarchs.

However, Druadaen remains determined to uncover what several ancient persons and beings have urged him to seek: “the truth of the world”—which might only be gained by traveling beyond it. Indeed, the mysterious Lady of the Mirror speculates that he might find the answers by journeying to the other side of her unusual looking glass: a reflective, ethereal portal that she calls a “shimmer.”

But there’s a catch: because the mysterious portal only allows a single person to pass through, Druadaen must leave his companions behind. Unfortunately, once he has, they discover that the “shimmer” only allows travelers to leave Arrdanc, not return to it. So his friends, led by stalwart swordsman Ahearn, resolve to find another means by which they can retrieve Druadaen—and with him, the truth of the world.

There’s just one small problem with their quest: the closer they come to finding a solution, the more obvious it becomes that various powers on Arrdanc don’t want them to succeed. In fact, they’d rather Druadaen doesn’t return at all.

**********

Yes, the reaction of those in power doesn’t add up. After all, why would they exile someone if all they were doing was searching for the truth?

We begin to see the answer to that question when Druadaen and his companions actually seek counsel with the Lady of the Mirror, and Druadaen ends up stepping through a mysterious portal into an entirely different world. He discovers people there, much like those from home, who have also endured chaos at the hands of an unknown power – from long, long ago – the likes of which was unmatched by all but the gods. And get this. The echoes of that chaos are similar to that on Arrdanc.

Of course, his friends are left floundering in his wake, so they also begin trying to fit the pieces of this larger puzzle together. In doing so, they begin to appreciate that the real truth as to the origins of Arrdanc has been hidden from mankind. And if they want answers, they’ll need to follow in Druadaen’s footsteps and journey across time and space to find them.

Thereafter, our story is told from two perspectives: By Druadaen, after his journey through the shimmer; and by his friends, who continue their efforts to be reunited with their friend, as they also strive to uncover the truth.

As before, the story arc is as compelling as it is thoroughly entertaining. It’s vivid, it’s bright, and dark and menacing. Murder, mystery, and mayhem, and abound in equal measure. That, along with engaging characters and an appealing, ‘you’re one of us’ dialogue helps to immerse you in the trials and tribulations of the gang as they begin to pick apart the scales masking the truth, to reveal a truly astonishing revelation As they do so, a bigger, much more complex, and insidious picture begins to emerge. (Fantastic world building there), which really adds an additional weight to an already well-established foundation.

Now, as to what that maleficent cancer is, you’re given plenty of clues (adding to those sprinkled throughout the first book). And as it continues eating away at the fabric of the world, you can only begin to imagine what’s coming. And whatever it is, it’ll be huge. The tension is building, and I for one can’t wait to see what happens.

And isn’t THAT what it’s all about?

Go on, enjoy yourself. It’ll be one hell of a ride.

Amazon - This Broken World

Amazon - Into the Vortex

 See How I Shine A Light On. . .

The Darkest Day

In this final book of the Gun Hand series, 17 years have passed since Walsh Ritter buried his wife, and shortly thereafter, avenged her death. And as the blurb goes on to highlight, his circumstances have changed considerably:

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 Walsh Ritter and the town of Tucumcari have needs. Walsh Ritter is standing on the doorstep of old age and needs a town where he can live out his final years quietly while he remembers the wife he loved that was needlessly and heinously taken from him. Tucumcari needs a resident coffin maker.

Seventeen years after he exacted his revenge on those that had killed his wife, Walsh Ritter is tired of wandering, he is ready to sleep in the same bed every night. Fate makes that possible. Walsh falls quietly and contentedly into life as a resident of a town who fills a necessary role, the role of coffin maker. Still wearing the gun that has made him so feared and so hunted, on occasion he must fall back on his old ways to stop those who would make a name for themselves by killing Walsh, but mostly he builds coffins and sits in the shade remembering her… until that young man came to town looking for help.

The town never saw Walsh again after he went to the shop to help the young man who was in need of a coffin.

Eleven days later, Walsh is allowed to emerge from one of his own coffins to see what he had hoped he would never see again. The young man proved to be much more than even Walsh had believed him to be. He was not just a kidnapper and would be murderer, he has a bloodline that makes him formidable.

Killing Walsh isn’t enough for the young man, it could never be enough. As so often before, the brutality had to precede the killing. But the young man makes the same mistake others before him made. When you take time to torture Walsh Ritter, you are giving him time to think and to get mad.

A reckoning must come, but also a final and everlasting peacefulness that had been sought for so long. Walsh sees a way for everyone involved to get what they desire the most, himself most of all…finally.

With jagged teeth and ragged lips, Walsh Ritter can finally smile in the epic conclusion to this saga.

 

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My blog followers will know I’ve followed Jeff Crawford’s Gun Hand series from the start. And I’ve really enjoyed every painful, bloody step along the way. What impressed me the most is the way Jeff Crawford managed to elevate his story by applying & sticking to – how can I describe this – an adult approach to psychological horror from the outset.

(If you’re looking for madcap running and screaming and wanton bloodletting, then look elsewhere).

No, what you get here is something thoughtful; something insidious; something that eats away at your sensibilities so that you’re drawn into Ritter’s plight in a very personal way. THAT’s why it’s far superior to many other stories out there. And such a vibe set the series apart. And in this concluding chapter, he manages to slow the pace right down and add an intensity that allows you to prepare for an inevitability long in the waiting.

What that inevitability entails? Ah, you’ll have to find out for yourself. Just remember, Ritter does things HIS way. At a time and place of HIS choosing. Can we expect anything less, then, in this his final story when the ghosts of victims past come a calling?

A part of me is sad that Ritter’s story has to end. But isn’t that the way life is? Even so, Jeff Crawford delivers that ending in such a way that the legend will always live on, and in doing so, sets an example of how to round a hugely satisfying series off.

Amazon Review

 See How I made Sense Of. . .

Chaos Vector

In Chaos Vector, the second installment of the Protectorate Series, Megan O’Keefe maintains the frantic pace of her opening foray into the stars, and indeed, builds that momentum into a blistering action-adventure that pleases from beginning to end.

But let’s not race ahead of ourselves. The blurb has something to say first:

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Sanda and Tomas are fleeing for their lives after letting the most dangerous smartship in the universe run free. Now, unsure of who to trust, Sanda knows only one thing for certain - to be able to save herself from becoming a pawn of greater powers, she needs to discover the secret of the coordinates hidden in her skull.

But getting to those coordinates is a problem she can't solve alone. They exist beyond a deadgate - a sealed-off Casimir gate that opens up into a dead-end system. And there's a dangerous new player who wants the coordinates for their own ends - a player who will happily crack her open to get them.

**********

Yes, the threads O’Keefe laid out in Velocity Weapon are tightened even further, providing us with a visionary, far-flung adventure that is as gripping as it is exasperating. How so?

Sanda has a chip in her head. Something that will result in her death if anyone in authority finds out about it. Yet the chip contains coordinates that might – just might – provide answers to an ongoing mystery, hundreds of years in the making.

Her brother, Biran, is fighting to maintain his position and authority in an increasingly volatile environment where Keeper turns against Keeper, and Guard Core can’t be trusted.

And Thomas? Thinking the terms of his original contract have been fulfilled, his Nazca masters reassign him, placing him in far more danger than ever before. And unbelievably, against a woman he has started to develop feelings for. Trying to navigate a path out of this unenviable position is fraught with peril, for if either side discovers what he’s up to, it’ll mean instant death.

You see? A lot happens in this second book, and we haven’t even considered some of the finer points of the ever-evolving sub plot taking place among some of the other players introduced in Velocity Weapon. As I said, the momentum is frantic. But at no time do you ever lose track of what’s happening, where, when, or to whom.

And, just when you think it’s safe to relax, O’Keefe does it again, by adding that plot-twist to zing things along in a different direction. Great fun. Thoroughly enjoyable, and a superb example of what space opera is supposed to be.

Amazon Review