Reviews of Child of Fire

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Upon further thought, I’ve decided to change my policy about reviews. As some folks (ie: Josh Jasper) have said, it can help drive traffic to review sites, and it’s part of the conversation. I’ll put links and excerpts behind a cut, though, and I still have no plans to comment directly on review posts.

Josh Jasper’s review on Genreville: “There’s less of a sense of who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy, and more of a sense of who’s a supernatural executioner, and who’s a tool of Lovecraft-grade evil from outside of space and time.”

Shawn Granger’s Review on King Tractor Press blog: “I said I went in with high expectations, they were met and exceeded.”

Laurel Amberdine: “Overall, highly recommended for readers who like fiction that is action-packed, witty, and sophisticated.”

Here’s Ryk Spoor’s review: “Despite the typical urban-fantasy setup (world like ours, secret magical background, first-person narrator), Child of Fire manages some highly inventive twists on both the plotline and the worldbuilding level, with a flavor that compares well to a combination of Jim Butcher’s Dresden novels, hard-boiled detective stories, and some of Dean Koontz’ horror novels. Loses one star partly because I find it a bit too dark overall, and because there are elements I feel needed more explanation/backgrounding/detail. Note that I DON’T get the feeling the author doesn’t KNOW those explanations, they just aren’t in the story and in some cases I think the book suffers — very slightly — from this lack. Nonetheless, an excellent first try out the gate.”

Here’s Harriet’s Klausner’s review: “The dysfunctional relationship between the driver and his boss enhances the tension of an exhilarating High Noon paranormal thriller.”

Here’s a review from Michael Jones at Green Man Review: “It won’t be pretty, it won’t be clean, and it won’t be nice. But with the world at stake, and his own death pretty much a sure thing, what’s Ray Lilly got to lose?”

Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist: “Harry Connolly paced his debut almost perfectly. The story grabs hold of you and sucks you in from the start, forcing you to always read yet another chapter. And before you know it, you reach the last page.”

Graeme’s Fantasy Book Review: “Connolly isn’t afraid to put his characters through the wringer either and adrenalin fuelled moments of spectacle are combined with a willingness to let the plot hang on the direction of a stray bullet. This is what kept me reading!”

Next we have some book-oriented social networking sites:

Goodreads has the most reviews, because they distributed early copies: From the 20 reviews: from “I read it in a single sitting.” to “Great summer read. However, I kept having to re-read passages thinking I had missed something. That slows the pace down a bit.”

There’s also LibraryThing, which has four reviews from: “This book kept me chained to my reading chair until I finished it.” to “The entire novel is played straight and serious, and these scenes come off as simply ridiculous.”

Shelfari has three reviews: from “I am really eager to see more from Harry Connolly and would love a little more about Ray Lilly and the Twenty Palace Society.” to “However the first half of the book is not so exciting and I’m not sure every reader will be patient enough to wait till things heat up.”

WeRead only has one review so far: “The relationship between the characters is not predictable and leaves you somewhat guessing until the end. I enjoyed reading a book where I am not able to predict what will happen next in the story or between the characters.”

And, of course, there’s the Amazon.com page: from “I’ve put Harry Connolly on my must buy list, and I hope you do too.” to “The antagonist is a child killing monster and still more likable then the main character. ” and “The creepy city is Hammer Bay, Washington … an updated Innsmouth, Mass. of Lovecraftian fame.”

And now I’m tired of working on this. I’ll post more at another time, if it seems right.