Tuesday 13 July 2010

FANTASY REVIEW: Shadow's Son - Jon Sprunk

BOOK BLURB:

Treachery and corruption lurk at the end of every street, in the holy city of Othir. It's the perfect place for a freelance assassin with no loyalties and even fewer scruples. Caim makes - or perhaps more accurately, takes - his living on the edge of a blade. Murder is a risky business, but so far he reckons he's on the right side of it. Or he was ...because when a short-notice contract job goes south, Caim finds himself thrust into the middle of a sinister plot in which he seems to be one of the primary marks. Pitted against crooked lawmen, rival killers and the darkest kinds of sorcery, it's going to take more than luck if he's to get through this alive. He may lack scruples, but he's still got his knives, and his instincts, to rely on - and a developed sense of revenge, or should that be justice? - to fall back on. But when his path leads him from the hazardous back streets of Othir and into the highest halls of power, will instincts and weapons alone really be enough? If Caim is really going to unravel the plot which has snared him, to unmask a conspiracy at the heart of the empire, he will have to finally claim his birthright as the Shadow's Son ...


REVIEW:

A new author and one that picks up the gauntlet of the fantasy assassin from Brent Weeks. What unfurls within this is a tale of murder, mayhem and above all else. Add to the mix a touch of Hitman (the film) alongside intrigue which makes this a real gem of a title. What Jon does different is his take on the mythos of the assassin and clearly demonstrates that whilst the loyalty of a hired killer is assured for the length of a contract their wrath is something truly fearful to behold. A great tale by this author and one that will definitely hit the spot for a number of readers who have yearned for the return to a darker killer in a similar vein as Gemmell’s Waylander.

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