Stephen Cost

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from the Lovers of Paranormal group on Goodreads.

This book has such an excellent universe. In it, there are "reapers" which are these mysterious, immortal beings that have a hunger for human life essence. They've inspired numerous myths, including those relating to vampires.
I absolutely hate, the narrator, Giles though. But, I mean that in the best way possible. Stephen Cost did an excellent job making him into a conceited jerkface and his personality fits him so well, it is exactly what I would imagine a reaper to be like. He makes me think of what Patrick Bateman from American Psycho might be like if he were an immortal vigilante that fed on humans.
The imagery in this book is really well done. It was often quite vivid and interesting, almost decadent. There were a few parts where it was a bit overbearing, but mostly it was spot on.
The ending wasn't that great however. It felt rushed and unpolished. Otherwise, this book was fantastic. I think anyone that's a fan of paranormal or vampire fiction might enjoy this. I'm definitely interested in exploring more of this world and I want to learn more about reapers so much.… (más)

I volunteered to read this book for review through the Modern Good Reads Group at GoodReads. With an eye-catching cover, and an interesting synopsis, I didn't hesitate to sign up. Furthermore, I hadn't read a paranormal for a while and the book blurb sounded fairly original -- non young adult, paranormal suspense rather than paranormal romance and no vampires (well, that is not wholly accurate; Reapers are not vampires, but there seems to be a fine, somewhat transparent difference.)

What caught me pleasantly off guard is the poetic writing Stephen Cost uses throughout the entire book -- from describing coffee, to hurried driving through Seattle rush hour traffic in a Porsche, to sword fighting with a father-like mentor. Mr Cost does an outstanding job with his imagery, bringing in all of the readers' senses whether he is describing silence ("a silence that burns more loudly than any fire"), a buzzer ("the accompanying buzz hanging like an unwelcome melody"), centuries old hand writing ("trying to understand the words hidden in the dancing curved pen lines"), or nighttime city life ("The lights of the clubs... awaken the aged stone streets, breathing life into them... bathing them in a magic that pulls people towards them.").

The story has elements of cliche -- Seattle, territorial blood drinking supernaturals living among humans, paranormals with morals (feasting on evil humans rather than innocents), and a damsel who is stronger and more knowledgeable than originally believed. The story is incomplete -- not with a cliffhanger ending, but with unanswered questions and unresolved issues -- so, we should expect at least one more installment in the series, but potentially more as these supernatural beings live for centuries, a few living for millennium. With original metaphors and analogies, the imagery is a welcomed breath of fresh air!

While this story is not particularly unique, it is a very well written easy read, completely engaging and ending entirely too soon for my preference, 300 pages feeling as if only half as long. I would recommend this to those who enjoy reading paranormal and/or suspense.

… (más)