A really solid introduction to Penn Cage, a former prosecutor turned author who moves back to his hometown after the death of his wife and uncov83/100
A really solid introduction to Penn Cage, a former prosecutor turned author who moves back to his hometown after the death of his wife and uncovers a whole slew of corruption on a scale larger than anyone could have expected.
This was an absolute page turner. Penn Cage is a great character and he's surrounded by others I quite liked. The mystery hooked me and then just kept getting bigger and more intriguing. The book also focuses a ton on racial unrest in the south, which I find to be something I like a lot in books.
Really excited to continue with these Penn Cage books. Banger....more
This is lit. Not really attached to the characters but they're cool, I guess, and since this is book one of nine I can forgive that. What's actu81/100
This is lit. Not really attached to the characters but they're cool, I guess, and since this is book one of nine I can forgive that. What's actually cool is the potential this series has to expand into something truly epic and worthy of the term "space opera." Also some pretty sick body horror stuff and some biological warfare that may or may not be aliens (I really don't know yet). Book two is downloaded and ready to be started....more
This was really good. Deep, realistic characters, writing/prose that I’d liken to Stevie King (who is apparently chums with Lehane, also Lehane 87/100
This was really good. Deep, realistic characters, writing/prose that I’d liken to Stevie King (who is apparently chums with Lehane, also Lehane has written on two Stevie shows), a great mystery and palpable tension. Fantastic book. If you like mysteries or King, check it out...more
Scholar’s Tale - one of the best things I’ve read this year. Priest’s Tale - really really good Poet’s Tale - really good Consul’s Tale - good Detec84/100
Scholar’s Tale - one of the best things I’ve read this year. Priest’s Tale - really really good Poet’s Tale - really good Consul’s Tale - good Detective’s Tale - alright, but action scenes (of which there are a good few) feel clunky and just not written very well; intentional with the POV, but didn’t work for me Soldier’s Tale - not very interesting until the last 10-15 pages. but horny...more
Another masterful work by McCammon in which he weaves a tale of multiple storylines and an incredible cast of characters so masterfully that you93/100
Another masterful work by McCammon in which he weaves a tale of multiple storylines and an incredible cast of characters so masterfully that you can’t really fully appreciate it until it’s over. The writing is so immersive and beautiful and genuine to the very early 1700s that it’s easy to be transported back to the time and get lost in.
Matthew Corbett continues to grow into his own person and is helped by some unsuspecting characters along the way. There’s a part near the very end where Matthew is thinking about all the people that helped in this book and when he runs down the list I just thought, “damn there’s actually a lot of characters in this book.” But it never feels overwhelming or confusing because they’re all so different and well done and worked in seamlessly. The relationships between each character are really well done and it’s just *mwah* chef’s kiss.
I had to dock a few points on this installment because I didn’t think the main mystery was as well done as in Speaks the Nightbird, but it’s still great. This may be unfair because Speaks the Nightbird just had an absurd amount of crumbs spread throughout it and twists that it was going to be nearly impossible to match or succeed, but it stands all the same. However, there’s a much larger mystery that begins in this book that I think should really expand in the subsequent books that is really intriguing, so that’s dope.
Also this book is oddly funny at points. It may be juvenile sex humor, but hell I got a chuckle. A character we get just a passing-by of is called Master Bater. A character remarks that if he busts another nut he’ll have to be hospitalized. There is a literal bull in a “China” shop. Just silly stuff like that that I enjoyed.
Book real good. Love book. McCammon quickly rising through the ranks of my favorite authors. Will continue series very very soon....more
WOOOOOOO!!!!!! I really really enjoyed this. I'm not gonna sit here and say it's a perfect masterpiece or anything, but it is a lot of fun. Disg86/100
WOOOOOOO!!!!!! I really really enjoyed this. I'm not gonna sit here and say it's a perfect masterpiece or anything, but it is a lot of fun. Disgraced noble child turned cast-out card sharp Lukan Gardova receives news of his father's murder, along with a note that contains three words. He travels to the city of Saphrona in an attempt to uncover the truth, but finds yet more questions, conspiracies, and a few unlikely allies, and trouble at every turn.
There's some tropey things here but I didn't really mind at all. Found this to be in the vein of Lies of Locke Lamora/Greatcoats in that it's some swashbuckling fun while still having a good deal of heart. Lukan, Flea (who I love btw, Flea is awesome), and Ashra are really endearing and easy to root for. There's also some pretty cool lore stuff with an ancient/extinct race and civilization, which is something I just geek out over anytime it's in a book.
A really good debut. It can totally be read as a standalone too, as there's a full storyline that concludes, with a separate storyline continuing into the next book. I need James Logan to hurry up and pump out the rest of the books so I can binge....more
impressed at the range of characters and character voices in each first-person pov. i think these books that use separate vignettes to tell an o83/100
impressed at the range of characters and character voices in each first-person pov. i think these books that use separate vignettes to tell an overarching story are kinda my jam. good shit...more