Patricia FlewwellingReseñas

This is a novel I've read multiple times as the author shaped it, then reshaped the story. I've just finished a final draft for what will be the Kindle/Createspace novel in a few weeks. I've got to say, even being familiar with the story of Sheldon Webb, this iteration of the novel kicked ass. The pacing is solid, the characters are interesting, some are even more fascinating because Flewwelling only hints at their true depth. And the great thing is, there will be more in the Fog of Dockside series.

If you enjoy historical novels, if you're a fan of the old-time radio plays from the Thirties, if you like superheroes, if you like a mystery, if you're into SF...seriously, this book has it all. When it becomes available, buy it and read it. Great story.

Before I start, I'm going to disclose that I've known the author, Pat Flewwelling, for almost fifteen years. I've read a lot of her work, both the published and the unpublished. And finally, I'll disclose that I'm a fan.

Pat and Tyche were kind enough to let me read an ARC of the novel prior to publication for an honest review. That's what they're gonna get.

On to the review.

This book, Helix: Blight of Exiles, the first in a series of books (a trilogy, if I'm not mistaken), has a lot going for it. It's a strange novel to try and slot into a genre. To be honest, for me, it felt, despite the very obvious [b:Moby-Dick; or, The Whale|153747|Moby-Dick; or, The Whale|Herman Melville|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327940656s/153747.jpg|2409320] references, like a more feral cousin to [b:The Island of Doctor Moreau|23311937|The Island of Doctor Moreau|H. G. Wells|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412577408s/23311937.jpg|42865861]. Same genetics, but also with some Andromeda Strain and The Howling tossed in there.

Flewwelling sets up a fascinating set of mysteries very quickly. What is The Wyrd? Why is Ishmael where he is? Where the hell is he? Why is everyone else here and what's going on with them anyway?

Then there's the characters. Ishmael is a walking question mark. You get some glimpses into his past, then Flewwelling pulls the curtain shut again. Then there's Dr. Foster. What is she studying, exactly? And for whom? There's Padre and Shuffle and Digger...oh, Digger. And then there's some fascinating secondary characters. I'm particularly enamoured with Ferox, myself.

You get all of this in the first half of the novel. Yes, it's a touch dense. There's a lot thrown at you, as a reader. At times, it can feel a touch chaotic, or a bit like trying to sip from a fire hydrant. Flewwelling basically straps you into the roller coaster, then throws the switch. While she'll give you some breathers occasionally, the thing I respect is, she'll never talk down to you, never insult your intelligence. You buy the ticket, you get the full ride.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that the first half is badly paced. No, along with the mysteries, you get a some fantastic action scenes that are an absolute standout in the story. And, to my mind, the author has come up with a ridiculously cool and modern take on lycanthropy…or is that therianthropy?

So, while there's a fair amount of setup in the first half, it's necessary setup, and it all goes to the payoff that is the second half of the novel.
So let's talk about that second half. The first half takes you to the top of the highest spot on the roller coaster. The second half is that crazy drop down the other side.

The second half is where all that setup begins snapping together. But it's so much more than that.

There is a particular action scene near the end. I will not ruin it for anyone, so, no spoilers. But all I can say is, "Holy crap!" Flewwelling opens her bag of tricks and weaves some magic. And that's all I'm going to say. You'll know it when you read it.

And you should read it.

Is it a perfect book? No. Then again, how many are? But is it a book worth your time and money? Hell yes.

I’m really looking forward to where this goes next.

Um...wow?

I was not expecting this.

Okay, let me back up... Disclaimer, known Flewwelling for years, blah blah, good friends, blah blah, read damn near everything she's written, blah blah blah.

I've read the first three Helix novels, and, while I enjoyed them, they've never been my favourite works from the author. To me, it always felt like Flewwelling was origamiing herself into unnatural shapes to explain the science behind werewolves, etc. The books got a bit tech heavy.

Then along comes this book (that, truth be told, I didn't even know she'd written until a few hours before I got my copy) and it grabbed me by the face and smacked me around...in the best way.

This novel opens with unexpectedly brutal action. It then proceeds to carry on with even more brutal action, and about the last quarter of the book is strap-your-ass-in, hands-and-feet-inside-the-vehicle-at-all-times, airsick-bags-are-in-front-of-you, now-hold-the-fuck-on! action.

Yes, there's some tech along the way. But it's tempered with some fantastic dialogue, amazing scenes that I need to let you discover like I discovered (I'll just say two things: zombie town, and vampire abilities), and an author who knows her concepts well enough to give you the cringe-inducing, yet spit-take funny lichen-thrope line. Oh, and there's vampires and zombies and world domination thrown in, too.

And I've got to say, the antagonist in this book (don't wanna give names, cuz I don't want to spoil anything) is the grossest, nastiest, and most subversive villain I've read in a long time. I enjoyed the heck out of them.

Seriously, this is the novel I've been waiting for Flewwelling to write for years, because I knew she had it in her.

She kicked ass with this one.

Go buy some protective headgear and a cup, and then read this.

Seriously.

I gave the first book in this series, [b:The Fog of Dockside City: The Obliteration Machine|18146717|The Fog of Dockside City The Obliteration Machine|Pat Flewwelling|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1381752114s/18146717.jpg|25498739] a four-star review. But this one...this one just smokes.

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy, and in conversation with the author at one point, I said, "It's a pulpy story overall, but there's such awesome, deep, mature undertones that the whole thing is completely elevated."

What I mean by that is, if you look at the cover (and by the way, it's a gorgeous cover, isn't it?) you'll get a sense that this is some sort of steampunk adventure.

Well, actually, it is, I'm told, dieselpunk. Whatever. I hate these restrictive genres. It's a damn good story. It's part SF, part Fantasy, part Superhero, part Horror, part Pulp Mystery. Flewwelling has her feet firmly planted in the era of old time radio plays. That's what I mean by the "pulpy story overall" comment.

But. But.

This one transcends all of those genres through two major improvements over the first novel (not that the first one was bad, hell, I gave it four well-deserved stars).

The first is the plotting. This one has an awful lot going on. There's the search for the plans for the Obliteration Machine. There's Sheldon's increasing knowledge of his power. There's his boss's subplot. There's the strange goings on with Sheldon's previous "family" and then there's...well, there's the monsters. Yes, monsters, plural. And yet, Flewwelling keeps all the plates spinning smoothly and effortlessly.

The second quantum leap in this story is all the characterization that Flewwelling gets in there. When I read a pulp type story, I don't go in expecting a lot of insight into the human condition. But, here, in this story, these characters climb out from the pages and live and breathe. They become people you love, people you hate, people you root for, people you hope will get their asses kicked.

Which of course, elevates this novel miles above any other comparable story.

Why should you read this book? Well, obviously you don't need to take my word for it, but I've read a ton of Flewwelling's writing. Her published stuff, and a lot of stuff that has not yet been published. And out of all of those stories, I can say, without a trace of doubt, this is the best thing she's ever written.

So, you want to read a work by an author at the top of their game (so far...I expect it's all going to just improve from here), this is one book you want to read. It's deep, it's action-packed, it's poignant, it's irreverent. But most of all, it's fun as hell.

Full disclosure: I know the very excellent Pat Flewwelling, and received an ARC in return for an honest review.

So, with that out of the way...

This is an interesting book, because there's a few levels to it.

First off, you've got a basic mystery going on. Someone...or someones are being killed. But who? And how? And why?

Then you've got Ishmael who's got...stuff...going on with him and his merry band of shape-shifting misfits.

And then there's the continuing mystery of the Wyrd Council's agenda, and the reason the group was sent out to investigate when, really, they should be getting smacked down for their actions in the first book, [b:Helix: Blight of Exiles|23302279|Helix Blight of Exiles|Pat Flewwelling|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412718742s/23302279.jpg|42857795].

And there's the science that Flewwelling tucks into the book to explain how all this shape-shifting works.

And finally...there's the ending of the book. I cannot and will not give it away. Instead, I'll challenge you to not say, "Holy SHIT!"

There's one more book to come. I may have to perch myself beside Flewwelling until that book is delivered. In the meantime, it'll be good to get an honest-to-God real version of this book, instead of just the ARC, when it's released August 9, 2016.

I'm a big comic book fan, so I love superheroes. Granted, most of my favourites wield an Asgardian hammer, or a red, white and blue shield, or wear a high-tech suit of gleaming metal armor, or shoot webs, or...

Well, you get the idea.

What I'm not fond of is historical fiction. Also, not a big fan of radio plays.

But when I get to read the origin story of a new hero, regardless of setting, I'm there. And that's what this first installment of The Fog of Dockside City is...a superhero origin story.

It's also a fun romp with some engaging characters. But I think the major thing that caught my imagination in this one is the slow building of the subplot. Yes, you meet Sheldon Webb, yes, you find out how he becomes The Fog, and yes, you also get some great scenes as Webb learns to deal with his newfound powers. But you also get a small peek, just a slight lifting of the lid, into Sheldon's past, and the characters that are attached to that are fascinating.

So, while you get to see the start of Sheldon's powers, and have a great time reading that, I think the next book's going to be even better, because that (hopefully) will be the true origin story of Sheldon Webb. The one that lets us see exactly where he came from.

I said I wasn't a fan of historical fiction or radio plays. This book is built up just like an Olde Tyme Radio Play, however, there's no more engaging story than the "who am I?" story. Flewwelling's done that that this time as Sheldon determines who he is now, as the Fog, but she's also masterfully set up a confrontation with his past as well.

I'm really looking forward to the rest of this series.

(Really a 3.5)
I came to this book in an interesting way. I read a blog post by the author, where she talked about how this book (self-published) had not been well-reviewed (hardly reviewed at all, in fact). She discussed the dilemma of whether to rewrite and re-issue a new version, or continue on with the series and let the first book stand. It was very interesting to me, as an editor and an author gearing up to self-publish the first book in a series myself. My curiosity was piqued enough to check out the book.

My feelings about the book are complicated. On one hand, I really enjoyed it. It has intriguing characters, and a unique setting that really resonated with me. I've always loved noir and superhero fiction and one of my favorite books of all time is "Invisible Scarlett O'Neill"--this made me think of that one. It has a complex plot that kept me picking up the book and reading on to see what happened next. That's the most important thing you want your book to do. I shelve a lot of books that don't hold my interest, but I read straight through to the end of this one.

On the other hand, the close attention of a good, experienced editor could have smoothed out the rough spots and really made this book shine. The writing is solid, really great in places. But many times I wanted to get out my editorial pen and mark it up. :) There were places where characters' motivations needed to be clearer, where things were confusing, rough patches in the writing, and where there were substantive issues that could have been easily fixed with some editorial input.

This is not to say that every traditionally-published book that has been professionally edited doesn't have some or all of these problems. Far from it. And--maybe this book was edited, and there were still things that were missed. I really don't know. But it always makes me sad when I read a book with so much potential, that falls short of the mark for this one missing element--good editing. Or at least feedback from thoughtful, objective readers who can point out these types of problems (as long as the author will act on their advice). I think the importance of having this kind of input is the single most important thing that gets overlooked by indie authors. And it makes readers put books down and never try that author again.

So. I have to give this book 3 stars (which is really 3.5 in my mind)--and keep in mind that I assign ratings based on Goodreads' definitions. I did really like the story and have already bought the next book, in the hope that the issues in this one will have been better addressed in the next.