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vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
thecanary's review against another edition
2.0
You can just about taste the atmospheric Assassin’s Creed trailer in this book.
SLASH, STAB
GRACEFUL DIVE OFF A ROOF
LOST AMID THE CROWD
That’s Caim for you. Assassin by trade, loner by choice, haunted by the memories of his murdered father and the quite lively and talkative ghost named Kit whom only he can see. Caim goes around murdering folks for money right up until he gets a shady job that sets him up.
Betrayal, mystery, shadow magic, action!
It was all very assassin adventure story...right up until page 25, when the second lead character is introduced:
“Wait. What is a sixteen-year-old debutante doing in my assassin action caper?”
Meet Josey.
Josephine starts out as a rich noble’s daughter, with her mind set on being a dutiful daughter and getting married, ends up rescued by Caim, and goes on to become an interesting foil for Caim’s relentless badassery and a fairly compelling character in her own right. (Well done!)
Sidenote: Caim’s transformation from a heartless sell-sword to a full-hearted armsman was a little more fuzzy. Redemption through Josephine’s goodness? Don’t know, don’t care.
Overall, the story reminded me of the Jason Bourne movies: A gentle dab of amnesia, super-excellent fighting skills, a pretty love interest out of her depth, and sinister forces out to get our hero. Oh, and lots of neat action sequences. Perhaps in the book's effort to break out of its uncomplicated hack-and-slash patterns, the reader is treated to an unnecessary (and mercifully brief) rape scene, presumably there to add cheap grit to the escapade.
The book is a straightforward sword and sorcery adventure with a couple mysteries, a few creepy villains, and reminds me quite a bit of the later RA Salvatore Drizzt D’Urden books. Or maybe a video game. Conflicts arose and were solved: boss battles followed by clues or boss battles followed by near escapes as the narrative raced towards its inevitable conclusion.
SLASH, STAB
GRACEFUL DIVE OFF A ROOF
LOST AMID THE CROWD
That’s Caim for you. Assassin by trade, loner by choice, haunted by the memories of his murdered father and the quite lively and talkative ghost named Kit whom only he can see. Caim goes around murdering folks for money right up until he gets a shady job that sets him up.
Betrayal, mystery, shadow magic, action!
It was all very assassin adventure story...right up until page 25, when the second lead character is introduced:
“Wait. What is a sixteen-year-old debutante doing in my assassin action caper?”
Meet Josey.
Josephine starts out as a rich noble’s daughter, with her mind set on being a dutiful daughter and getting married, ends up rescued by Caim, and goes on to become an interesting foil for Caim’s relentless badassery and a fairly compelling character in her own right. (Well done!)
Sidenote: Caim’s transformation from a heartless sell-sword to a full-hearted armsman was a little more fuzzy. Redemption through Josephine’s goodness? Don’t know, don’t care.
Overall, the story reminded me of the Jason Bourne movies: A gentle dab of amnesia, super-excellent fighting skills, a pretty love interest out of her depth, and sinister forces out to get our hero. Oh, and lots of neat action sequences. Perhaps in the book's effort to break out of its uncomplicated hack-and-slash patterns, the reader is treated to an unnecessary (and mercifully brief) rape scene, presumably there to add cheap grit to the escapade.
Spoiler
And no, I’m not buying the “it’s just a bit of realism” thing. This is a fantasy world in which Caim can shrug off a crossbow bolt to the chest. That, and author's choice: it would have been just as easy for some character to snarl, “Evil Overlord wants the princess untouched!” as things got nasty, because, you know, girly is the heir to the empire.The book is a straightforward sword and sorcery adventure with a couple mysteries, a few creepy villains, and reminds me quite a bit of the later RA Salvatore Drizzt D’Urden books. Or maybe a video game. Conflicts arose and were solved: boss battles followed by clues or boss battles followed by near escapes as the narrative raced towards its inevitable conclusion.
cecilka's review against another edition
3.0
3,5*
Myslela jsem si, že mě to nebude bavit, že to jen rozečtu a nedočtu,jak je u mě zvykem. Ale začetla jsem se a docela rychle jsem to přečetla.
Jak to u takových příběhů bývá, hlavnímu hrdinovi zabili rodinu, když byl ještě malý klučík. To ho samozřejmě ovlivnilo a stal se z něho nájemný vrah. Je to takový ten kladný hrdina, který není dobrák od kosti. Nemluvě o tom, že o své rodině moc neví. A vlastně toho neví ani moc o sobě, takže je to trochu i příběh o tom, jak hrdina hledá své pravé já.
Josi měla být rozmazlená holka, ale moc rozmazleně se nechovala, byla obyčejná, statečná hrdinka, kterou najdeme v nejednom příběhu.
Bylo zde hodně akce, napětí, nějaké ty popisy prostředí - abychom si pořádně představili, jak vypadá stoka. Docela mi chyběl humor. Sem tam se nějaký ten vtip objevil, ale mně to nestačilo. Vím, ne každý píše humorné knihy.
Myslela jsem si, že mě to nebude bavit, že to jen rozečtu a nedočtu,jak je u mě zvykem. Ale začetla jsem se a docela rychle jsem to přečetla.
Jak to u takových příběhů bývá, hlavnímu hrdinovi zabili rodinu, když byl ještě malý klučík. To ho samozřejmě ovlivnilo a stal se z něho nájemný vrah. Je to takový ten kladný hrdina, který není dobrák od kosti. Nemluvě o tom, že o své rodině moc neví. A vlastně toho neví ani moc o sobě, takže je to trochu i příběh o tom, jak hrdina hledá své pravé já.
Josi měla být rozmazlená holka, ale moc rozmazleně se nechovala, byla obyčejná, statečná hrdinka, kterou najdeme v nejednom příběhu.
Bylo zde hodně akce, napětí, nějaké ty popisy prostředí - abychom si pořádně představili, jak vypadá stoka. Docela mi chyběl humor. Sem tam se nějaký ten vtip objevil, ale mně to nestačilo. Vím, ne každý píše humorné knihy.
mackle13's review against another edition
2.0
A decent enough story and decent enough writing - but there's nothing original or really all that captivating about it. Tropes abound, and the plot and character interactions are all pretty predictable.
And, ya know, I can live with a cliche story - some of my favorite stories are pretty tropey, to be honest - but there has to be something about the writing and/or characters to engage me in some way, and while Caim is the type of character I go for, and while I was rooting for certain things to unfold, it just didn't do it in a way which made it stand out from the other books of the type.
On the plus side, it was paced fairly well, and the short length works in its favor. And the characters, while sticking to tropes, aren't entirely 2-dimensional.
And, ya know, I can live with a cliche story - some of my favorite stories are pretty tropey, to be honest - but there has to be something about the writing and/or characters to engage me in some way, and while Caim is the type of character I go for, and while I was rooting for certain things to unfold, it just didn't do it in a way which made it stand out from the other books of the type.
On the plus side, it was paced fairly well, and the short length works in its favor. And the characters, while sticking to tropes, aren't entirely 2-dimensional.
lost_between_worlds's review against another edition
3.0
Well written book. I like the way the author describes everything. He gives a lot information without it being boring and there is still room for imagination. The character are nice, except Josey. I don't like her. The plot is okay, but because of the cliches I gets only 3 starts. Good book, but not a masterpiece.
cupiscent's review against another edition
2.0
I honestly didn't think this sort of fantasy got published any more - the pedestrian, cliche-loaded, mediocre-tolkien/mythology-aspirant sort. At least the plot moves fast, though I suspect it has to or otherwise you'd be able to see daylight through the holes that turn into lace. Characters made of thin cardboard in utterly familiar shapes, a brutal dichotomy of good and evil, and a setting that's both generic and wildly anachronistic in its influences. Sort of like in was written from an unholy melange of the notes from Dan Brown's newest novel, and the notes from a teenage GM's newest campaign. At least I finished it; it's that bearable.
dtaylorbooks's review against another edition
4.0
How did we end up here
Pyr sent me a catalogue, I thought this title sounded interesting and here we are. It’s been a little while since I received it but I’m getting to it now, aren’t I?
Okay, book. You've got 50 pages. Go!
I was immediately set into some action in another world but I wasn’t discombobulated by it. Plus the writing wasn’t heavy-handed in that ‘I-must-speak-fantasy sort of way that comes with higher worlds and the genre. There’s swearing and lay language and occasionally a few multi-syllabic words get thrown in there but nothing ridiculous and jarring or otherwise fantasy snooty. Fanooty.
There was death and intrigue and conspiracy within the first fifty pages so, you know, that’s kind of hard to turn away from.
What worked . . .
The storytelling, definitely. It was incredibly fluid and lingered on moments just long enough to get me a point, set me a scene or otherwise give me some information I needed and then moved on. I still felt the story was a little dense for its length but I got through it quickly. It didn’t feel like a slog and I was never bored.
The world also felt rather Roman to me and that really did a good job of keeping me in the story as well. It felt like that more Dark Ages transition from the Pagan polytheism to Christian monotheism and while it’d been a few hundred years since the transition there’s still unrest. I liked that. It made the world more relatable and realistic and while it wasn’t THIS world I could root it in something, give it an association and make it mean more to me than some blank world that had to be built from scratch.
Josey was a pretty neat chick. Despite her moments of damsel in distress when she had an inch she certainly took it. I think she’s one of the best-portrayed female characters I’ve seen in her situation in quite a while. Her actions are indicative of her station and the way she was raised, however she wasn’t a weakling. Well, she was but not really. She could stomp a foot and put up a fight when she needed to.
What didn't work . . .
Despite how much I liked the story I didn’t feel all that connected to the characters, especially Caim. I wasn’t incredibly invested in his story despite him being the main character. I really left the story was more Josey’s and once she came into the picture she really stole the show from him. Sure, he was constantly thrust into the forefront but any time Josey made an appearance her personality was just too strong against his. He never stood a chance on the page when she was there. It’ll be interesting to see how into the story I am in the next book when she’s no longer there. At least I think she won’t be there.
I wasn’t sure of the point of Kit. And what she looked like was rather pointless as well: a small-waisted, buxom beauty, basically. She’s been with Caim since he was a baby and sometimes she serves as an early warning system but the rest of the time she’s rather pointless and not even involved. I’m going to hazard a guess her function reveals itself further in the series as Caim discovers where his powers really came from and what the deal with his family is but right now she’s useless.
And in the end . . .
I’m intrigued enough to read the next book, that’s for sure. I think the storyline has a lot of potential and I really hope it comes back around to Josey because she’s a pretty awesome character. Yes, SHADOW’S SON has its flaws but I liked what I read. It’s my kind of fantasy that’s relatable, has its shadows grounded in something I can grasp and talks to me like I’m a normal human being, not some flowery Harvard professor with suede patches on my elbows. I like it.
Pyr sent me a catalogue, I thought this title sounded interesting and here we are. It’s been a little while since I received it but I’m getting to it now, aren’t I?
Okay, book. You've got 50 pages. Go!
I was immediately set into some action in another world but I wasn’t discombobulated by it. Plus the writing wasn’t heavy-handed in that ‘I-must-speak-fantasy sort of way that comes with higher worlds and the genre. There’s swearing and lay language and occasionally a few multi-syllabic words get thrown in there but nothing ridiculous and jarring or otherwise fantasy snooty. Fanooty.
There was death and intrigue and conspiracy within the first fifty pages so, you know, that’s kind of hard to turn away from.
What worked . . .
The storytelling, definitely. It was incredibly fluid and lingered on moments just long enough to get me a point, set me a scene or otherwise give me some information I needed and then moved on. I still felt the story was a little dense for its length but I got through it quickly. It didn’t feel like a slog and I was never bored.
The world also felt rather Roman to me and that really did a good job of keeping me in the story as well. It felt like that more Dark Ages transition from the Pagan polytheism to Christian monotheism and while it’d been a few hundred years since the transition there’s still unrest. I liked that. It made the world more relatable and realistic and while it wasn’t THIS world I could root it in something, give it an association and make it mean more to me than some blank world that had to be built from scratch.
Josey was a pretty neat chick. Despite her moments of damsel in distress when she had an inch she certainly took it. I think she’s one of the best-portrayed female characters I’ve seen in her situation in quite a while. Her actions are indicative of her station and the way she was raised, however she wasn’t a weakling. Well, she was but not really. She could stomp a foot and put up a fight when she needed to.
What didn't work . . .
Despite how much I liked the story I didn’t feel all that connected to the characters, especially Caim. I wasn’t incredibly invested in his story despite him being the main character. I really left the story was more Josey’s and once she came into the picture she really stole the show from him. Sure, he was constantly thrust into the forefront but any time Josey made an appearance her personality was just too strong against his. He never stood a chance on the page when she was there. It’ll be interesting to see how into the story I am in the next book when she’s no longer there. At least I think she won’t be there.
I wasn’t sure of the point of Kit. And what she looked like was rather pointless as well: a small-waisted, buxom beauty, basically. She’s been with Caim since he was a baby and sometimes she serves as an early warning system but the rest of the time she’s rather pointless and not even involved. I’m going to hazard a guess her function reveals itself further in the series as Caim discovers where his powers really came from and what the deal with his family is but right now she’s useless.
And in the end . . .
I’m intrigued enough to read the next book, that’s for sure. I think the storyline has a lot of potential and I really hope it comes back around to Josey because she’s a pretty awesome character. Yes, SHADOW’S SON has its flaws but I liked what I read. It’s my kind of fantasy that’s relatable, has its shadows grounded in something I can grasp and talks to me like I’m a normal human being, not some flowery Harvard professor with suede patches on my elbows. I like it.
mw2k's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable read all round. Makes no great strides into any new territory, and none of the characters are memorable in any way, but the whole thing is carried forward by an earnest style that doesn't demand too much, nor can you dismiss it as outwardly lightweight.
I do like the protagonist's "invisible friend" though.
I do like the protagonist's "invisible friend" though.
annastarlight's review against another edition
4.0
Cuddle-worthy assassins, a spunky ghost only he can see, and several plots to overthrow the government and the Church; Shadow's Son has it all.
Caim has no loyalties, no family and no one he would consider a friend, except maybe Kat, a ghost that has been following him around since he was a child. When he gets a last-minute job to kill a rich old man inside his villa, he gets involved in the struggle for power of several influential groups. Together with the daughter of his intended target he tries to uncover what's going on before they get killed themselves.
Shadow's Son is set in a fantasy world distinctly reminding of the Rome of about the time of Augustus. There are mentions of aquaducts, villas and a Pantheon (including a hole in the ceiling as the real-world pantheon has). The names and political systems might be different, but the city even seems to be built on several hills (as Rome is famously built on seven). There is a tension between the old faith, a polytheistic religion, and the new and imposed faith, a monotheistic religion. I quite enjoyed the setting, but I wondered why the author made up fantasy names if it's so obviously inspired by Rome. Just call the cow a cow and make it an alternate history without the bother of all the fancy fantasy names.
Some people have mentioned the use of clichés in Shadow's Son. I won't deny this; there are several clichés in the book, and if you're sensitive for that kind of thing it might not be for you. Even though the set-up of the story is a cliché (assassin rescues a girl instead of killing her, everyone is out to get them) the story in itself is very well done and exciting. The book reads as one big action-packed adventure with enough political intrigue and different factions with different interests to keep you hooked.
There is a romance of sorts in Shadow's Son, but I loved how subtle and not so in-your-face it was. I hate the kind where the couple instantly have the hots for each other and pronounce their love after two hours. No such thing happens in Shadow's Son. They might find each other attractive, yes, but their relationship is complicated and well, realistic. The man is an assassin for god's sake, you can't fall in love with that without doubting your sanity.
Assassin fantasy seems to become more prevalent these days, and Shadow's Son is a good example of how the subject can be handled. The fact that Caim kills people isn't glossed over, but he isn't an unrelatable monster. At times the story becomes rather grim; about as grim as a mix between Robin Hobb (not so grim) and Joe Abercrombie (very grim), if that's any indication. Recommended for people that like their fantasy a bit darker, that enjoy Roman-like settings, and that enjoy their fantasy in books that don't weigh a ton.
Caim has no loyalties, no family and no one he would consider a friend, except maybe Kat, a ghost that has been following him around since he was a child. When he gets a last-minute job to kill a rich old man inside his villa, he gets involved in the struggle for power of several influential groups. Together with the daughter of his intended target he tries to uncover what's going on before they get killed themselves.
Shadow's Son is set in a fantasy world distinctly reminding of the Rome of about the time of Augustus. There are mentions of aquaducts, villas and a Pantheon (including a hole in the ceiling as the real-world pantheon has). The names and political systems might be different, but the city even seems to be built on several hills (as Rome is famously built on seven). There is a tension between the old faith, a polytheistic religion, and the new and imposed faith, a monotheistic religion. I quite enjoyed the setting, but I wondered why the author made up fantasy names if it's so obviously inspired by Rome. Just call the cow a cow and make it an alternate history without the bother of all the fancy fantasy names.
Some people have mentioned the use of clichés in Shadow's Son. I won't deny this; there are several clichés in the book, and if you're sensitive for that kind of thing it might not be for you. Even though the set-up of the story is a cliché (assassin rescues a girl instead of killing her, everyone is out to get them) the story in itself is very well done and exciting. The book reads as one big action-packed adventure with enough political intrigue and different factions with different interests to keep you hooked.
There is a romance of sorts in Shadow's Son, but I loved how subtle and not so in-your-face it was. I hate the kind where the couple instantly have the hots for each other and pronounce their love after two hours. No such thing happens in Shadow's Son. They might find each other attractive, yes, but their relationship is complicated and well, realistic. The man is an assassin for god's sake, you can't fall in love with that without doubting your sanity.
Assassin fantasy seems to become more prevalent these days, and Shadow's Son is a good example of how the subject can be handled. The fact that Caim kills people isn't glossed over, but he isn't an unrelatable monster. At times the story becomes rather grim; about as grim as a mix between Robin Hobb (not so grim) and Joe Abercrombie (very grim), if that's any indication. Recommended for people that like their fantasy a bit darker, that enjoy Roman-like settings, and that enjoy their fantasy in books that don't weigh a ton.
varmint3's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty simplistic & the writing was a bit cliched. The best thing about it was the idea of the shadow world, and it was nice that it was gradually revealed through the unfolding of the plot & not "info-dumped".