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A review by jlennidorner
The Rogue Retrieval by Dan Koboldt
4.0
This book is magic realism and portal fantasy. It takes place in our current time. The main character is a performer in Las Vegas who is very good at stage magic. He's recruited to go on a journey, which is all very secretive, and leads him through a portal to another world where there is real magic, which he might have (it's likely but not proven beyond the shadow of a doubt in this first book).
I admit that I had very high expectations going in. Do I know Dan? No, not personally. But he did defeat me in a WriteClub battle a few years ago. (A well-deserved win. That short story was fantastic. He ended up as the champion that year.) I'm glad to see his stories, characters, and worlds in print.
This story had a bit more technical knowledge than I'm used to reading. (Which, if you like lots of details about weapons and fighting, you'd love this.) There were some lines that I didn't understand the purpose of the explanation (example: "the stone was as solid as he could have wanted"), but that is probably more to do with me than anything else.
My favorite part, due to the humor in an action scene:
"He's not a (*spoiler)."
"I figured that out when I saw his submachine gun."
The last 30% percent of the book is worth five stars. That's when everything is established, the story really picks up the pace, and the twists start slamming in.
I admit that I had very high expectations going in. Do I know Dan? No, not personally. But he did defeat me in a WriteClub battle a few years ago. (A well-deserved win. That short story was fantastic. He ended up as the champion that year.) I'm glad to see his stories, characters, and worlds in print.
This story had a bit more technical knowledge than I'm used to reading. (Which, if you like lots of details about weapons and fighting, you'd love this.) There were some lines that I didn't understand the purpose of the explanation (example: "the stone was as solid as he could have wanted"), but that is probably more to do with me than anything else.
My favorite part, due to the humor in an action scene:
"He's not a (*spoiler)."
"I figured that out when I saw his submachine gun."
The last 30% percent of the book is worth five stars. That's when everything is established, the story really picks up the pace, and the twists start slamming in.