Ohana Reviews

Review- A secret Man of Blood

Reviewer- kinalhariya
Book- A secret Man of blood
Author- GaryRiddell

Blurb:

Blurb is interesting, but a bit long. You can cut down a little of the blurb and it will still be interesting, but it's your call. All important factors needed for the basic outline of the story have been presented, letting the readers know what they are getting into. It is intriguing as well as hooking.

Just a small suggestion- In the second para, the team members can be separated by a semicolon while the commas can be used for their introduction. This will reduce the confusion that the sentence causes.

→He is joined by Anya, A DIA agent and expert investigator; Anya's brother Indigo, an autistic mage who holds an immense power; The Kindred, a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence; and Sig, a Dwarven mercenary.

Moving towards the chapters,

Awesome start. The starting paragraph itself hooks you right into the story.

I like the descriptions provided. It creates beautiful imagery.

The whispers are really intriguing. I am looking forward to finding out what they are.

The Action scenes have awesome imagery. Greatly described.

The first chapter was brilliant. The broken trust was evident along with the confusion as to why it happened. I feel bad for the citizens who were killed ruthlessly.

First chapter is a give away for the story that the blurb had described to start. Going after his mentor would be hard. Looking forward to seeing how he will tackle this.

I have a feeling that there would be a plot twist in the latter part of the story about the mentor, but it is just my assumption.

Every other character is so diverse from each other, and I really like that fact.

The character traits for the recruits made my eyes widen with shock. If they do find such team members, everything is going to be so much more interesting.

The very entry of Sig was gold. His brazen humour has made me laugh so much in just a few sentences.

The characters Fisk and Captain Mallory seemed to come out of nowhere. A short introduction and how the other three met them would be nice.  However, I don't think they are major characters, as all other main characters have been introduced really well.

Whilst the action scenes were described really well, they were too long for me and made me want to skip the paragraphs altogether. A balance is needed, so that the story as a whole doesn't get forgotten in between the brilliant fighting scenes.

Sig's humour was a much needed relief after a heavy fighting scene. The comic timing was perfect.

Awesome ending for the third chapter. It left me intrigued and excited to read further.

The comment- He is like a dog to me. I couldn't stop laughing at that. Plus the fact that Sig meant it without any humour, made it all more funnier.

The ancient voice created a lot more mystery. I enjoyed reading the part where it recognized that Squad was a nice person.

The disheveled team of Anya and Sig was clearly a sight. There were so many awesome moments in between the fights that I had a blast.

Elizabeth seems really determined. I like the fact that she has confidence in her abilities yet she isn't making claims that she will rule unless she earns it. This shows her great character.

Kindred seems really resourceful. The awe of him should also be shared with the awe for Indigo who created him. And I love the fact that he is getting sarcastic by every passing minute.

*****

Characterization is done brilliantly. Each character has a distinguished personality. Sig's personality overpowers others, and that makes it much more relatable as it is the truth that loud ones do take the whole attention of the room while the quiet ones disappear until their area of expertise comes up.

World building

The new world is described really well. The imagery created in this book is like no other. Not to forget the fact that every minute detail  of the places, fights, species is specified. A lot of work is done and it is clear while reading the book.

Plot

Concept is simple, but the way it is presented is extraordinary. The complex world adds to the fascinating part of the story. There aren't any plot holes and the story moves at a steady place. Writing style is also perfect.

Grammar:

There are no grammatical errors except for one missing punctuation in chapter six and one in chapter eight. The book is so well written.

Last words,
I love the mix of the team's determination, diversity of the ambassadors, a brewing mystery along with the main mystery of the rogue spectre, and not to forget the humour. The book is a rollercoaster ride. And I enjoyed the whole experience.

Awesome book. Thanks for choosing me. Keep writing!!