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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I just found this author and I'm very pleased with the fact. The story was just delightful.
"Chapter 1
The night hung in tatters. Gas streetlamps chewed at the darkness... Heavy purple clouds pumped up from smoke stacks and patterned the sky like ugly patches on a black velvet curtain. A few fireflies blinked from what corners of blackness remained.
A pair of them invaded the darkness of my rooms. I watched them flicker, darting through their insectile courtship. They swooped past my face, circled, and then alighted inside the fold of my shirtsleeve.
They crept close to one another, brilliant desire flashing through their tiny bodies. Their antennae touched and quivered. The female firefly reached out and stroked the male. He rushed into her embrace. Holding him close, she crushed her powerful mandibles through his head. Their flickering bodies blinked in perfect unison as she devoured him.
Some romances end more badly than others."
Many of the books I've read recently are unmemorable. Not necessarily badly written, but little more than functionally written.
And then there's the first page of "Wicked Gentlemen".
It's a bravura performance: terrific writing of such richness that it's nearly cloying. Except it's offset by the gritty characterisation (despised "lower-race" outcast abandons himself to the drug addiction he was forced into during months of torture), the mystery plot and a tentative unexpected romance.
The book's loosely set in a very AU England, where, many generations ago, "the Covenant of Redemption had brought my fallen ancestors up from Damnation. They abandoned their great kingdom of endless darkness in exchange for the promise of Salvation for themselves and their descendants. [But now] the carved temples and catacombs that had once been a city of hope had decayed into dank ghetto;...vast caverns gaped wide with tenement houses and ore sluices. The children of hell’s greatest lords had been bred down into coal miners."
Now, their descendants - demon-spawn like Belimai Sykes - are subject to the whims of Inquisitors such as William Harper.
"Death came by slow degrees on the hard metal tables of the Confessional rooms. It was done with simple questions and endless patience. Unlike the depictions in protest flyers, the Houses of Inquisition did not flow with rivers of blood. The walls were not stained with gore or hung with rusted hooks. The Houses were holy places. They were quiet, clean, and bright. Even the Confessional rooms were subdued and calm. The Inquisitors and Confessors never taunted or screamed threats. They asked politely for everything. The silver knives, nails, and prayer engines were merely devices with which they sought absolute truth. All they demanded was complete honesty."
The plot is relatively straightforward (Belimai & Harper get to the bottom of two successive demon vs human mysteries) and enjoyable (particularly the set-piece climax to the second half). Belimai's jaundiced view and sardonic observations lighten the tone too.
"Most of the Bankers I had seen were soft pillows of men. They traveled in chubby little clusters like summer clouds drifting across the sky."
But it's Belimai's tortured soul making a slow understated connection with Harper's upright Inquisitor that provides the emotional heft of the book.
"I stared at him, trying to think of what I would do if I chose not to join him. I wasn’t such a delicate creature that I would simply wither and die of sorrow. I could survive losing him; I just wouldn’t want to."
Make sure to follow up on the free epilogues on Ginn Hale's site, too.
Superb world-building, great writing and strong characters: thoroughly recommended.
Solid world building and effective play on all the senses really gave life to the dark city setting. The writing's good and there's some brilliantly sharp dialogue.
Unfortunately, the characters and the plot didn't satisfy; they felt shallow and lacking. I was expected to care for characters I'd barely been introduced to, root for a couple whose relationship mainly developed off-page, and be swept up in an assault of drama that escalated way too quickly.
Unfortunately, the characters and the plot didn't satisfy; they felt shallow and lacking. I was expected to care for characters I'd barely been introduced to, root for a couple whose relationship mainly developed off-page, and be swept up in an assault of drama that escalated way too quickly.
Oh boy, was this a fun ride. I adore Ginn Hale's characters, and am frankly quite disappointed I didn't get to spend more time with them. The world as well was exceedingly interesting, and I would've loved to see more of its development. As I got to the end I found myself deeply hoping this was part of an extensive series--but alas. I enjoyed my time with Harper and Belimai and shall treasure it while secretly hoping for a decade-later sequel.
This book is actually made up of two shorter novellas, the first of which is the more captivating. I thought that the world-building in this 'verse was excellent and I would have happily read ten times more about the history of the Angels and Demons.
The one thing that did throw me a little was that the first story is written from one character's POV as first person limited while the second is from another character's in third person limited, before reverting back to an epilogue in first person. It's a small thing, doesn't take away from the interestingness of the book, but was a little jarring to get used to at first.
The one thing that did throw me a little was that the first story is written from one character's POV as first person limited while the second is from another character's in third person limited, before reverting back to an epilogue in first person. It's a small thing, doesn't take away from the interestingness of the book, but was a little jarring to get used to at first.
Wonderfully spare prose as vivid as any riot, paced with the sure hand of a true storyteller. The switch in perspective is distracting, but also impressive.
Re-read this and realised I missed some details the first time around. What I first thought was a nice, competent novel is still nice and competent, but also had more depth than I remember. Short, sweet, sometimes horrifying. Not a word out of place.
I've also just read the short story that describes Belimai and Harper's lives five years after the novel, I see now where the 'The night hung in tatters. Gas streetlamps chewed at the darkness.' descriptions is coming from. Belimai is an artist, and it informs his descriptions. Whereas the parts of the novel told over Harper's shoulder (but not in his first person) weren't quite as specific or lyrical about the weather or his surroundings. I loved that detail.
I loved the characters, loved the conversations, loved the setting. This is still great.
I've also just read the short story that describes Belimai and Harper's lives five years after the novel, I see now where the 'The night hung in tatters. Gas streetlamps chewed at the darkness.' descriptions is coming from. Belimai is an artist, and it informs his descriptions. Whereas the parts of the novel told over Harper's shoulder (but not in his first person) weren't quite as specific or lyrical about the weather or his surroundings. I loved that detail.
I loved the characters, loved the conversations, loved the setting. This is still great.
I absolutely loved this book. It's hard to describe or categorize, but trust me, it's fabulous. It's not steampunk, but it does have a bit of a steampunk feel to it. It takes place in a world where demons moved up from Hell and converted to Christianity. Now the descendants of these demons, called "Prodigals", live as second class citizens. The Church runs everything, from the police to the banks, and the Inquisition is very active. Belimai Sykes is a drug-addicted Prodigal; William Harper is an Inquisition captain investigating a series of brutal murders of Prodigals and the disappearance of his own sister. They start working together and while there is physical attraction at first, it eventually develops into a tentative romantic relationship. Meanwhile, there is mystery and adventure.
This book gets shelved with gay fiction, which is really a disservice to most fantasy readers, because it is much more of a fantasy adventure / murder mystery than a m/m romance. There are two love scenes, the first a tasteful fade to black and the second no longer or more graphic than the heterosexual sex scenes in mainstream fantasy.
Ms. Hale's writing is lyrical, her descriptions evocative, and her characters realistically flawed and likable. I will definitely be looking to read more books by her. Highly recommended.
This book gets shelved with gay fiction, which is really a disservice to most fantasy readers, because it is much more of a fantasy adventure / murder mystery than a m/m romance. There are two love scenes, the first a tasteful fade to black and the second no longer or more graphic than the heterosexual sex scenes in mainstream fantasy.
Ms. Hale's writing is lyrical, her descriptions evocative, and her characters realistically flawed and likable. I will definitely be looking to read more books by her. Highly recommended.
This has to be one of the most interesting worlds I've read recently. I only wish I had more to read about how it came to be and how the Inquisition works and everything else!
This book was a fun read. There was somewhat more mystery and less romance than what I expected, and I think I'd have liked to see more of the relationship between the two main characters develop. The character arcs were pretty weak overall, which is a bit surprising because romances are generally quite character-driven. The worldbuilding was great, though! I thought the world was really cool and I would love to see a story about whether they manage to reform the problems with the Inquisition.