Despite 1001 Dark Nights being
the book equivalent of the old fashioned music productions ‘Solid Gold Hits
volume blah…blah…blah’ – meaning you don’t get a show in unless you’re already
a publishing sensation – not every author is as worthy as others. It is a good format. A kind of try before you buy platform
(although each issue does cost all of approx. $3 – mwah - not that much in the grand scheme of things, and if you are
of the more cautious persuasion then you can always take advantage of the free sample available through Amazon first before you commit). Then you can move forward with the authors of your
choice. For me Larissa Ione has
definitely proven to be one of these.
This is the first novella (the
first anything, actually) that I have tried of hers, and I liked it a lot. The tale is simple, fast-paced, full of
action and reaction. The names ring
familiar, Hades, Azagoth, Reverent, Reaver, even Satan - a fusion of mythical
and biblical characters that are not forced into the rigid strictures of
religious dogma or recorded myth, but people a place as original as any world
of the ‘once upon a time’ fantasy genre’s I enjoy reading.
The hero (if you can call a
bad-arse demon, a hero) is equally dark and dangerous, and flirty and fun. The dialogue between Cat and Hades was
humorous, human and engaging. Cat, short
for Cataclysm (perhaps it should have been Catastrophe), was a likable protagonist,
who’s penchant for breaking stuff and causing accidental mayhem that spiraled
out of control the more she tried to fix it was to a degree both frustrating
and enchanting. A couple you found
yourself rooting for though everything seem pitted against them. It was a one-stop read!
In fact, it tickled my fancy so
much I went and bought the previous Novella in the 1001 Dark Nights series –
Azagoth - straight after I finished it and read that as well. I will even check out this author’s other
titles and wait with baited breath for further up and coming installments.
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Sydney Whyte
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