John Carver has three rules: Don’t drink in the daytime, don’t gamble when the luck has gone, and don’t talk to the dead people who come to visit. It has been almost five years since the incident in Kabul. Since the magic stirred within him and the stories began. Fleeing the army, running from the whispers, the guilt, and the fear he was losing his mind, Carver fell into addiction, dragging … dragging himself through life one day at a time.
Desperation has pulled him back to Afghanistan, back to the heat, the dust, and the truth he worked so hard to avoid. But there are others, obsessed with power and forbidden magics, who will stop at nothing to learn the truth of his gifts. Abducted and chained, Carver must break more than his own rules if he is to harness this power and survive.
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Read for 2021 SPSFC
Overall Thoughts
This was a well written and engaging military science fiction, with characters that draw the reader in from the first scene. MilSF is not usually my scene because it tends to the ultra-violent, and dark and gritty (and I should probably pop a trigger warning in here for torture and PTSD). This book had all of that, but written well enough to keep my attention the whole way through. It does have a lot of what I call “power moments” when the main characters give it their everything in a blood-soaked battle to the finish. Those moments can sometimes be a bit over the top, but again, were handled well in this story. There was one aspect of the main character’s abilities that nagged at me, and was never really cleared up to my satisfaction, especially as I’m guessing this is a stand-alone story. I can’t say too much about it, as it’s a pretty big spoiler, but I would have liked a little more certainty the way it worked.
Plot
This was the weakest of the three for me, though it was still very solid. There is a large buildup until we actually see any special abilities, and I feel like the pacing lagged just a bit in the first section getting the characters to where they needed to be for the rest of the story. I enjoyed reading it, because the characters are funny and realistic, but after finishing, I realized some of the plot points near the beginning could have been cut back a bit without really affecting the story.
Setting
This is largely set in the Middle East, which does have its share of issues, especially when viewed from the POV of a white male soldier. It could easily have been set elsewhere, as the main character is drawn into the larger plot through a security contract with a high-placed client. The other POV in the book starts out in a hidden complex where testing for special abilities is happening, so she doesn’t even interact with anyone in the atmosphere of that country, though all the workers at the facility are middle eastern. There’s a lot of torture and very questionable ethics going on in the facility itself and it wasn’t every really explained how the whole thing got set up to start with, but it does provide a challenging situation for the POV characters to evade or escape.
Character
This is definitely the strongest part of this book. It’s primarily a character driven story, where the setting and even the backdrop of special abilities are more to explore the development of the characters than to be an end in themselves.
There are two POVs in the book, one of a male, English ex-special ops with severe and untreated PTSD, and the other of a female, Australian nurse with a history of trauma. I was glad to see there weren’t really any fridging or problematic tropes with the female POV. She’s just as powerful and capable as the male. Again, there is a lot of torture and abuse present, but it’s used as a vehicle to explore how these two people are broken and potentially, how they can start to heal. The characters are very well written, and very witty, which helps ease the intensity of some of the violence and gore in the book. Overall, while none of the powers are particularly original, they do serve the purpose of taking a good look into what makes people tick.
Score out of 10 (My personal score, not the final contest score)
Temporary score until more books in the contest are read: A well-crafted, character driven Military Science Fiction about how we cope with trauma and to what extent we will go to achieve our objectives. Nothing overtly original about any of the concepts, but they are mixed together in an engaging narrative. 8/10
Book source ~ BBNYA
John Carver fled 15 years of British SRR military service because of an incident in Afghanistan. Living mostly off the grid he fights addiction and ignores the apparitions of the men who died under his command. A large debt needing paid back to a loan shark sends John back to the one place he never wanted to go again: Kabul. And that’s where the nightmares begin again.
Mackenzie Cartwright, an Australian nurse in Kabul doing relief work is kidnapped for a power she doesn’t believe she possesses. She tries to escape but hasn’t managed to succeed when she meets John. Two heads are better than one, right? They better hope so.
There’s something about John that I had to keep reading. Not that the writing isn’t good, because it is good. But John. What is going on with him? What are his demons? Or ghosts in this case. What happened in Kabul? Why are there rumors about him, why is he running from what happened (whatever that is), and why is he seeing and hearing dead people? So many whys! I needed answers!
But wait, there’s more! Mackenzie is introduced and her scary story is told also. Then they dovetail and answers start coming fast and furious. I was enthralled. I didn’t want to stop reading, so I didn’t. I read this story, on and off (stupid real life bullshit interrupting my reading), in one day. There’s plenty of mystery, danger, action, and suspense in this. The characters are relatable and engaging. The plot flows along at a fast clip and the feelings it provokes are many and varied. If you like military guys using their skills, a female protagonist who is inventive, strong, and a quick thinker, paranormal powers to be explored, and villains who want them at whatever the cost, then look no further. This book has an ending, but it keeps open the possibility of future books. Would I read those? Damn right I would.
The Best Superhero Novel I Ever Read
The Lore of Prometheus is the best superhero novel I have ever read. I loved Brandon Sanderson’s Reckoners series, but this is far better. It brings superheroes into our world and makes them feel real.
The Opening
The opening chapters were effective at introducing Carver, showing us what kind of person he is, and demonstrating some of his abilities. Potential superpowers aside, he is a tough hero with an enviable skill set.
The Characters
John Carver is awesome. He’s the most proactive protagonist you could imagine. Even before we read hints that he may have supernatural powers, he is already extremely well equipped to be the main protagonist in a military action-adventure novel.
However, he’s no saint. If you looked up “character flaw” in the dictionary, Carver would be the definition. He has serious PTSD problems, an unexplained debt with the mob, and a possible gambling addiction.
Mackenzie is a traditional sympathetic character. She came to Afghanistan to help people, and she is a qualified nurse, but now she is in deep trouble. However, she is no maiden awaiting a knight to rescue her from the dragon. She has her own strengths, and she’s not afraid to use them.
I think that the author should have reminded us that Mackenzie was Australian every now and again as the story developed. It was mentioned when she first appeared but then isn’t mentioned again until chapter 31. At that point, I’d completely forgotten and she wasn’t using an Aussie accent in my head. A bit of reinforcement at the beginning and then a few reminders would be nice.
Chapter 31 also sees an unexpected character development for Mackenzie that was not adequately foreshadowed and so feels implausible. It disturbed my suspension of disbelief for a moment. There is an incident, and she made use of an old hobby to resolve the situation. However, that hobby was never mentioned before.
It is implausible because she faced an almost identical situation at the end of chapter 24 and did not make use of her hobby despite the fact that she was physically stronger at that point.
It also seemed strange since Mackenzie had been involved in a program of physical exercise to regain strength, and she never once used any exercises connected with her hobby or even compared her current exercises to the old ones used in her hobby. This rehabilitation program was an ideal place for foreshadowing.
The Plot
This superhero action adventure story features an action-packed plot that will keep readers on their toes and well entertained.
For me, the resolution was satisfying, especially in terms of the secondary relationship plot. However, it was a bit rushed, in my opinion. There were too many loose ends left flapping that would have been interesting to resolve.
For example, I would have liked an explanation of why Carver is in debt at some point in the novel. I suspect it’s due to gambling, but it’s never explained. Also, I would have liked to have seen a resolution of that issue by the end of the story instead of letting it fizzle out as an irrelevant and trivial matter.
Similarly, I really, really wanted to revisit Mujib. I was severely disappointed at the end of the novel when we didn’t get to see what happens to him. Basically, it seems a lot of interesting plot development occurred between chapter 38 and the epilogue, not least in terms of the relationship arcs.
Rather than just skipping all that, I would have liked at least one chapter between the two to round up those flappy loose ends and bring a smile to the reader’s face.
The Setting
All the settings in this story are fabulous, from the dingy drug dens of London’s East End to the posh end of Kabul. A lot of attention was paid to interesting details, such as the dust in the desert and the backstreets of Afghanistan’s capital.
I especially loved the well-developed magic system and how it was slowly shown and not told to the reader. The explanation behind the superheroes’ magic sounds plausible and unique.
The Prose
The prose was fabulous. Well written and easy to follow, I quickly became immersed in this story. I also liked the occasional jokes. Especially the one comparing British and American servicemen in chapter 15 and the one addressing the reader as “kids” in chapter 22.
My Opinion
As I wrote earlier, this is the best superhero story I have ever read. Despite my comments on the loose ends at the close of the novel and the one issue with Mackenzie’s hobby, I am still going to rate this as a solid 10 out of 10. That will translate to 5 out of 5 on Goodreads and Amazon.
Notice:
I received this book to read and review as part of the BBNYA 2020 competition and/or the BBNYA tours organized by the @The_WriteReads tours team. All opinions are my own, unbiased, and honest.
There is no way this man can write fast enough for me. I fly though his works no matter the topic. Fast paced, with great characters.
I just couldn’t get into the character or the storyline.
People who like conventional thrillers with a dose of weird will enjoy this. All the good guys, bad guys, and feisty heroine are in place.