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A review by thecanary
Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk
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.