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vikingwolf's review
3.0
William is a wizard and a New York beat cop. Previously he worked for a crime syndicate who tried to kill him for developing a conscience over the people they were cheating. Now he is a cop and is forever getting into trouble for poking his nose into investigations that he is not involved in. After a tip, he breaks into an apartment which is alleged to be the site of a vampire bleed farm, where kidnapped humans are taken and drained of their blood. The victims have been moved but evidence of the farm does remain, along with a fleeing vampire. William is able to get his hands on the book that the vampire leaves behind, which has powerful magic in it.
With this being a short story I don't want to say too much more about the actual plot for fear of spoiling it but basically William is now a marked man because the owners of the book want it back. The only person he can turn to is best friend Sully, the man who saved his life. I love Sully and his wife as supporting characters in the plot. Hopefully we'll see more of them in future books. William is a decent MC and I found him interesting enough to carry the story.
I've already read a horror short story by this author and liked it and I'm a fan of his apocalypse books. I think I'll probably read on with this series as well when time allows.
With this being a short story I don't want to say too much more about the actual plot for fear of spoiling it but basically William is now a marked man because the owners of the book want it back. The only person he can turn to is best friend Sully, the man who saved his life. I love Sully and his wife as supporting characters in the plot. Hopefully we'll see more of them in future books. William is a decent MC and I found him interesting enough to carry the story.
I've already read a horror short story by this author and liked it and I'm a fan of his apocalypse books. I think I'll probably read on with this series as well when time allows.
moj8668's review
4.0
William Silver has a secret - he was born into a powerful line of wizards but a genetic anomaly left him unable to connect to the Void. In other words, he’s a Normal. Thanks to his friend Sully - an inventive half-dwarf - implants do the work that his genetics can’t so no one in his family or on the Council knows that he isn’t really one of the Touched. His task? Track down the illegal bleed farms and stop the vamps running them. Along the way he discovers a magical book that could spell destruction if it falls into the wrong hands. Is his “borrowed” magic strong enough to protect the book?
This book is really more novella than novel. But don’t let the length fool you! It’s an action-packed prequel to the series that will have you wanting more of this wizard and his impulsive choices. Highly recommend!
This book is really more novella than novel. But don’t let the length fool you! It’s an action-packed prequel to the series that will have you wanting more of this wizard and his impulsive choices. Highly recommend!
spookshow's review
3.0
You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com
William Silver is a wizard from the most prestigious family in the fold. Though he's not exactly adept at magic. He works as a beat cop for a local police station, and investigates supernatural crime on the side. This one was supposed to be easy, infiltrate a bleed farm and save the humans that were enslaved there. However it turns into something a lot bigger than Will was anticipating. After dispatching a vamp, Will comes across an old book, apparently it belongs to someone pretty powerful, and also possesses a lot of power itself. But what the hell is it? And what is the being it belongs to planning on doing with it?
A great starter to a series. This story was a fantastic introduction to the character William Silver as well as the world he resides in. I found him to be sassy and fun as a character, and a litttllee bit arrogant, but not in an annoying way, if that makes sense. I really enjoyed the character of Sully and his wife Sam too. I love how fun and easy going this story was, even though the threat encountered was pretty massive it still came across as lighthearted which was great.
The only problem I had with it was possibly the pacing...the story itself was fine, and there was stuff happening, but for such a short story it seemed to take me way too long to finish it. I'm not sure if I was just having a lull in my reading enthusiasm or if the pacing of the story was just a bit off.
I'm definitely interested in continuing with the series, and I absolutely love the world building that Kraus executed in this story. Colour me intrigued.
William Silver is a wizard from the most prestigious family in the fold. Though he's not exactly adept at magic. He works as a beat cop for a local police station, and investigates supernatural crime on the side. This one was supposed to be easy, infiltrate a bleed farm and save the humans that were enslaved there. However it turns into something a lot bigger than Will was anticipating. After dispatching a vamp, Will comes across an old book, apparently it belongs to someone pretty powerful, and also possesses a lot of power itself. But what the hell is it? And what is the being it belongs to planning on doing with it?
A great starter to a series. This story was a fantastic introduction to the character William Silver as well as the world he resides in. I found him to be sassy and fun as a character, and a litttllee bit arrogant, but not in an annoying way, if that makes sense. I really enjoyed the character of Sully and his wife Sam too. I love how fun and easy going this story was, even though the threat encountered was pretty massive it still came across as lighthearted which was great.
The only problem I had with it was possibly the pacing...the story itself was fine, and there was stuff happening, but for such a short story it seemed to take me way too long to finish it. I'm not sure if I was just having a lull in my reading enthusiasm or if the pacing of the story was just a bit off.
I'm definitely interested in continuing with the series, and I absolutely love the world building that Kraus executed in this story. Colour me intrigued.
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