CURRENTLY READING

CURRENTLY READING

FAVORITE #HASHTAGS

#DanteTongueLove
#KickedintheTaco
#Throatchop

JULY

JULY
7/3/12

7/10/12

7/31/12

7/31/12

7/31/12

AUGUST

AUGUST
8/7/12

8/28/12

SEPTEMBER

SEPTEMBER
9/4/12

9/18/12

NOVEMBER

NOVEMBER
11/6/12

11/30/12

DECEMBER

DECEMBER
12/4/12

I'M A STAR FOR KLB!!

I'M A STAR FOR KLB!!

DOWNSIDE ARMY RECRUIT

Proud Member of the Downside Army

Blog Archive

BLOG DESIGN CREDIT

Get your own free Blogoversary button!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Review: The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay


Atlanta: it's the promised city for the off-worlders, foreigners from the alternate dimensions of heaven-like Elysia and hell-like Charbydon. Some bring good works and miracles. And some bring unimaginable evil....


Charlie Madigan is a divorced mother of one, and a kick-ass cop trained to take down the toughest human and off-world criminals. She's recently returned from the dead after a brutal attack, an unexplained revival that has left her plagued by ruthless nightmares and random outbursts of strength that make doing her job for Atlanta P.D.'s Integration Task Force even harder. Since the Revelation, the criminal element in Underground Atlanta has grown, leaving Charlie and her partner Hank to keep the chaos to a dull roar. But now an insidious new danger is descending on her city with terrifying speed, threatening innocent lives: a deadly, off-world narcotic known as ash. Charlie is determined to uncover the source of ash before it targets another victim — but can she protect those she loves from a force more powerful than heaven and hell combined?

I've seen this book around in bookstores for a while now. But I have to say, it wasn't until a literary agent recommended the book to me last month at a writer's convention that I decided to finally read it.  She said the first line of this book sets the tone for the rest of the novel.  So being the geek I am I pulled out Precious and downloaded a sample to see the first paragraph. I have to say -- she was right! Check it out:
 "You told a two-thousand-year-old oracle to prove it?" Hank kept pace beside me, nursing his bloody nose with a handful of fast-food napkins I'd pulled from the glove box earlier. "I mean do you ever think before the words spew of your mouth Charlie?
The Better Part of Darkness is an urban fantasy story that introduces readers to a world where alternate universes have been discovered an their inhabitants have been integrated into human society.  All of the action is centered around Atlanta, GA - where the first dimension breach occurs.  Charlie Madigan is an ITF officer attempting to keep the bad guys in check, while raising her daughter. 

Overall storyline for The Better Part of Darkness is great. Gay's world building is solid and readers are placed right in the middle of the action. Charlie is a strong character with a "kick-ass" attitude and she carries the novel and the action well.   The only issue I had with the storyline were the abrupt "dunt-dunts" (yeah like Law and Order) where certain situations were just plopped into the story abruptly. Or special character angles were only touched on lightly when you really wanted more detail.  But for a debut novel, Gay certainly hits the spot dead on for a great series in the urban fantasy genre. I'm looking forward to reading book 2, The Darkest Edge of Dawn.


Author: Kelly Gay

Publication: November, 24, 2009 by Pocket
Format: Kindle Edition, 416
Disclaimer: This book was purchased by me


1 comments:

Anonymous said...

I LOVE your Law & Order "dunt-dunt" reference, I can hear it now! I've been so curious about this author. Great review!

FOLLOWERS

GRAB MY BUTTON

CONNECT WITH ME

Event Button Event Button Event Button Event Button

YOU CAN FIND ME HERE 2!

ALIENS RULE!

Photobucket

SMUTTY GOODNESS

The Smutty Society

ARE YOU LISTED?

Parajunkee Design

ARE YOU A MEMBER?

I DID IT!

Photobucket