Sunday Shout-out for @davidhearnewriter and his fantastic review of my book The Power of Conviction
“I enjoyed this story which features some first-rate world building and is paced superbly. There’s an authentic flavour and continuity that comes through in the writing that helps the book flow. It’s an absorbing read.
The story itself is sound enough, I was reminded of the Grimm series. Despite the hunting being for demons I felt the author had created something different with its own lore and rules. The concept of having a prime (or boss) works well during the quests as the Priesthood hunt out the evil around them (with mixed results). Good fiction becomes much better with memorable characters and we have plenty of them here.
The dynamic that unfolds between Anaya and Samael creates both a hook and intrigue. What can light and darkness possibly have in common, after all? I found it made for fascinating reading and complimented Anaya’s quests, adding a tasty element to the story.
While Anaya is our protagonist, Edric is an interesting character too with real depth provided by both his backstory and his gruff quirkiness. He’s deftly written and Vixen works very well also as the one who takes an interest in him for reasons of her own.
Lenda is a good, likeable support character too while Ekelon is supposed to be a good guy but his means sometimes suggest otherwise.
Some of the other characters (Adena, Eden, Arax, Lilith) get a little lost in the background but I think they’re supposed to as we have plenty of characters taking centre stage. It’s a balancing act not to throw too many new characters at the reader and one that the writer has managed well.
There’s plenty of violence, sex and torture going on here but it’s not gratuitous and works as part of the story.
The climax of the book just works and foreshadows possibilities for future works (of which there are). Can’t wait to read them.” – David Hearne
