Tag Archives: Book Reviews

December 11, 2012

Book Review: Exmortus: Temples Diabolic

A powerful hand grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him back onto the dock. Ash's limp body was thrown roughly to the ground, the key snatched from his hand. A moment later Ash was again airborne and moving rapidly down the docks, watching the white demon fly over the water towards him.

A weak rasp escaped Ash's throat.

“Kill me.”

A shrill laugh echoed off the stones of the small alleyway they had ducked into.

“The most exquisite death is a long life full of powerless regret, Ashley of House Xavier.”

Todd Maternowski. Exmortus: Temples Diabolic (Kindle Locations 2304-2308). Unknown.

 

I've heard it said that you can never run away from your past. The things we do stick with us for the rest of our lives, even when we try to hide and create a new life for ourselves. When Ash left his life behind him, he was still very young, but his transgressions were not forgotten and in the midst of his new life being destroyed by men and gods alike, an old enemy has found him and is determined to teach him exactly what it means to suffer.

 Exmortus: Temples Diabolic is the second book in Todd Maternowski's Towers of Dawn series, and it picks up right where the first book left off and the frenetic pace continues on with all of the brutality I've come to expect from this series. The gritty, brutal, ugly reality of Ash's life is shared with enough detail to make some readers flinch from the pages, but it is that very discomfort that gives the story, and the writing, its power. The author does an incredible job describing Ash's pain and the tortured decisions of a youth still holding onto the hope of something more than pain and death.

Like the first book, the characters are well defined, unique and a perfect fit for the dark, violent setting that Exmortus takes place in. When the end of the book arrived it felt like a natural place to break, but I couldn't help but want more.

You can buy the book in Kindle or Paperback here: Exmortus Amazon.

Visit the Author's website:  www.towersofdawn.com

 

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October 29, 2012

100-Word Challenge, Day 120

Medical Droid from the movie Star Wars

Medical Droid from the movie Star Wars (Photo credit: mharrsch)

"Calm down, Doctor Murray," Wade said as he tapped his slate and a number of machines about the room hummed to life and began to move. "I'm not entirely convinced that you didn't have something to do with this, but it is not my call." He stepped away from the bed as the automated medical equipment circled about Evan's bed until they had reached some silent accord where they each owned a piece of real-estate that would allow them to perform the function they had been designed for. "So, I'm just going to run you through a series of unnecessary, and highly uncomfortable, tests just to make sure it is safe to let you back into the world." Only the security guard standing outside the hospital room door heard Evan's muffled screams.

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September 12, 2012

Book Review: COAST: An Act of Burial

 “The name of the ship is the Fort William” said Sutton, passing McKinley an intelligence dossier. “Royal Fleet Auxiliary supply vessel. We’ve just got hold of what appears to be the wreck site on satellite so finding it won’t be a problem and we can confirm details as you travel. We need to get you down there to secure her cargo. That’s your absolute top priority; we’ll let the Navy figure out what took her down.”

“Two questions sir,” responded McKinley. “Why us and why is the cargo sensitive?”

“Twenty seven thousand ton ships don’t just vanish with no time to send a mayday and, as far as we can tell, no survivors. Random attack? Accident?” The general spread his hands. “We don’t know. But something serious happened at about 02:00 GMT and we can’t ignore the possibility of a hostile action.”

McKinley looked at his watch. It was 04:18. No wonder the morning’s rush.

Sutton glanced behind McKinley to where there was a clock above the soundproof door. “Yes,” he continued, “time’s a factor. We need to get to the cargo before anyone else and we need to keep an ultra-tight lid on the situation. The ship was carrying four WE82 Trident warheads for a submarine that’s not supposed to exist. So it’s definitely not supposed to be in the Persian Gulf with armed missiles in range of the Iranians either. This is above top secret McKinley. Apart from the Joint Forces Command and a handful of admiralty at Faslane who are going mad right now, no-one knew about this, not even the captain of the Fort William. Why your lot? Yours is the only complete team I can deploy at the moment and, like I said, this needs to be completely secret. Not a whisper to the Saudis, the Bahrainis and never mind their neighbours across the gulf; no-one. The Navy are sending a destroyer but it’ll take nearly a day to get there and I can get you on site and working in less than nine hours.”

 Xander Richards. Coast: An Act of Burial (Kindle Locations 305-320).

 

 

I have a love-hate relationship with thrillers. I love when the action is intense, but I hate when the story telegraphs the suspense to the point that you see things coming. Finding a balance is not easy for all but the best authors. There is a certain finesse that usually takes time and practice to achieve, but when the author gets there, the books can be magnificent. Continue reading →


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