Scan barcode
A review by songwind
امپایر استیت by Adam Christopher
3.0
Empire State is an interesting story and unusual idea, plagued by some shaky execution.
The Empire State resembles prohibition Manhattan, but with a dystopian twist. Rad Bradley is a down-on-his-luck private investigator who spends too much time in his local speakeasy. When a woman comes to him looking for answers about the disappearance of her lover, it leads him into a frightening and complicated situation. Rad soon discovers that what he thought he knew about Wartime, the Empire State, and even himself may not be true.
The way the story plays out is quite interesting. There are action and mystery aplenty, and the characters keep your attention.
Unfortunately, there were some flaws that had to be worked past in order to enjoy the story. Some were minor, mostly the use of Australian English from the POV of an American gumshoe here and there. It should probably have been caught in editing, and didn't hurt things beyond interrupting the flow of the story. Others were more difficult. I found the book hard to get immersed in for the first half. I was enjoying it, but couldn't get into that reading "zone" when the story starts unrolling and you are sucked in. A large part of that is due to a cliffhanger prologue that doesn't become relevant until much later in the book.
I look forward to reading more from Adam Christopher, and to see how his craft improves.
The Empire State resembles prohibition Manhattan, but with a dystopian twist. Rad Bradley is a down-on-his-luck private investigator who spends too much time in his local speakeasy. When a woman comes to him looking for answers about the disappearance of her lover, it leads him into a frightening and complicated situation. Rad soon discovers that what he thought he knew about Wartime, the Empire State, and even himself may not be true.
The way the story plays out is quite interesting. There are action and mystery aplenty, and the characters keep your attention.
Unfortunately, there were some flaws that had to be worked past in order to enjoy the story. Some were minor, mostly the use of Australian English from the POV of an American gumshoe here and there. It should probably have been caught in editing, and didn't hurt things beyond interrupting the flow of the story. Others were more difficult. I found the book hard to get immersed in for the first half. I was enjoying it, but couldn't get into that reading "zone" when the story starts unrolling and you are sucked in. A large part of that is due to a cliffhanger prologue that doesn't become relevant until much later in the book.
I look forward to reading more from Adam Christopher, and to see how his craft improves.