The Auctorati

This story was a great read. Great enough to read more than once. It starts right of in the action pulling introducing the characters all at once leaving come things shrouded in mystery and others clearly defined. The type of chapter that makes you want to keep on reading. The characters are well developed and all have different motivations for doing what they do but all these motives bring them towards the same end goal. Destroying the Villian Talon.

What I like about Talon is as a villain he makes sense. He's just a man trying to come out from the hand life dealt him by whatever means necessary. Evil though he may be it's not hard at all to sympathise with his reasoning. That and he gets some of the best one-liners. Comedy gold.

This story is a perfect blend of magical fantasy with a splash of modern technology thus making it a good mix for those who love both genres. The pace is perfect from front to end. I never felt bogged down or rushed while reading it.

The hero, Libra is easy to understand. An officer of the law turned vigilante to help bring justice to the crumbling city he calls home. Operating outside the law has its advantages but his main struggles come when lingering beliefs from his policing days combat with what he needs to do now to save the city. It definitely had me screaming 'just do it' a time or two. So lots of points for deriving an emotion out of me.

The world the book is set in is easy to understand with just enough information to allow your brain to fill in the gaps effortlessly. The tension in the heightened points was always right at edge of your seat placement. And all the major plot points on the race to get what the villian wants before the villain can, fall effortless into place so you can't tell it was intentional. Just a lot to love here. Especially the snippets of humour. I laughed a lot.

Then there's Vinzant. The resident artist, okay street graffitist. His personality lights up the entire book. By far my favourite character and if I could pluck him out and make him mine I would. He doesn't have a heavy motivation like the rest of the characters but he does have the most fire about how he tries to save the city.

But the character who probably shines through the most is Micks. His single-minded determination to get out from the life he's in is written well. His angst about his choices, the justifications and the cloud of doubt make his journey from beginning to end the most transforming. 

This story is a journey of people who would probably be enemies coming together for the same cause. Some with questionable motives. Full of angst, betrayal and personal growth. The type of read you can enjoy more than once. Laugh, get angry, and love all at the same time. And it's a quick read. Perfect for that long flight or that weekend getaway. Or even that late-night glass of wine book reading moment. Just pure fun.  My only gripe would be how one certain villain's comeuppance didn't, well... come up. But that's just because I'd probably have killed them a thousand times over for what they did. Sadly I can't say anything more without it being a plot spoiler.

In short great characters. Good flowing plot. Humorous in some points and the action and tension were perfectly pitched. And Vinzant is definitely husband material. That alone is worth reading this novel.