inthelunaseas's review
3.0
I received this book as part of Goodreads giveaways and first reads. When reviewing these books, I try to provide constructive criticism, particularly since a lot of the authors are new on the market, and the book received is either their first, or one of their first, novels.
The premise of [b:Blood Money|463014|Blood Money (Jane Whitefield, #5)|Thomas Perry|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174963927s/463014.jpg|226956] is a rather simple one. Kelton, our protagonist, is a vigilante-for-hire with a strict moral code. Think [b:Dexter|17231|Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter, #1)|Jeff Lindsay|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255569333s/17231.jpg|2113743] without the serial killer part. He receives a job to rescue a biologist who has discovered a cure for AIDS who has been kidnapped by the government.
A fairly standard premise, really. Good guy rescues damsel from bad guys. It works as a plot. But it becomes a bit more convoluted than that. There's some kind of peculiar subplot at the start involving the rapist son of a rich guy, and some kind of family drama that plods along in the background. I think [a:Brian Springer|2958012|Brian Springer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1308383652p2/2958012.jpg] was going to develop the first of these sub-plots, and the second sub-plot is intended to be an overarching idea through any sequels written- and the book is very, very open to sequels. Unfortunately, these meandering sub-plots resulted in the novel itself becoming somewhat convoluted. This didn't lower my enjoyment of the book in any way, but it did mean the plot itself got drawn out unnecessarily.
Furthermore, there were two 'twists' that I could see coming from the start. I won't state what they are here, but I kept thinking throughout the whole book, 'wait, wouldn't x have been dead already?'.
There are a lot of errors- continuity, just plain 'seriously??'- in here that bothered me a little. One that stands out involves the rapist in the start. He states that he has raped thirty-four women in the beginning. Later one, Kelton states our friend has raped thirty-seven women 'by [rapist's] own admission'. Three extra women in less than twenty-four hours. A lot of injuries also get brushed off without a second thought. Massive head wounds, gunshot wounds, that sort of thing. And things are also made very easy for Kelton and Jessica- car doors are left open and ready to be driven away in, they take a trip to freaking Disneyland. Yeah.
Now, this book isn't bad to read. It's very simple, and I could have easily read it in a day or two if I didn't have anything wrong. It moves fast, and it's not challenging, which is nice if you're looking for something simple to read. It's also enjoyable, in a James Bond kind of way. It's an escapist book, and that's not a bad thing. I can't hate on it, and I'm not, but I do feel that a bit of gentle editing would have fixed some of the errors in the book, or at least smoothed them over some. I liked it, even though it's not my style.
The premise of [b:Blood Money|463014|Blood Money (Jane Whitefield, #5)|Thomas Perry|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174963927s/463014.jpg|226956] is a rather simple one. Kelton, our protagonist, is a vigilante-for-hire with a strict moral code. Think [b:Dexter|17231|Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Dexter, #1)|Jeff Lindsay|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255569333s/17231.jpg|2113743] without the serial killer part. He receives a job to rescue a biologist who has discovered a cure for AIDS who has been kidnapped by the government.
A fairly standard premise, really. Good guy rescues damsel from bad guys. It works as a plot. But it becomes a bit more convoluted than that. There's some kind of peculiar subplot at the start involving the rapist son of a rich guy, and some kind of family drama that plods along in the background. I think [a:Brian Springer|2958012|Brian Springer|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1308383652p2/2958012.jpg] was going to develop the first of these sub-plots, and the second sub-plot is intended to be an overarching idea through any sequels written- and the book is very, very open to sequels. Unfortunately, these meandering sub-plots resulted in the novel itself becoming somewhat convoluted. This didn't lower my enjoyment of the book in any way, but it did mean the plot itself got drawn out unnecessarily.
Furthermore, there were two 'twists' that I could see coming from the start. I won't state what they are here, but I kept thinking throughout the whole book, 'wait, wouldn't x have been dead already?'.
There are a lot of errors- continuity, just plain 'seriously??'- in here that bothered me a little. One that stands out involves the rapist in the start. He states that he has raped thirty-four women in the beginning. Later one, Kelton states our friend has raped thirty-seven women 'by [rapist's] own admission'. Three extra women in less than twenty-four hours. A lot of injuries also get brushed off without a second thought. Massive head wounds, gunshot wounds, that sort of thing. And things are also made very easy for Kelton and Jessica- car doors are left open and ready to be driven away in, they take a trip to freaking Disneyland. Yeah.
Now, this book isn't bad to read. It's very simple, and I could have easily read it in a day or two if I didn't have anything wrong. It moves fast, and it's not challenging, which is nice if you're looking for something simple to read. It's also enjoyable, in a James Bond kind of way. It's an escapist book, and that's not a bad thing. I can't hate on it, and I'm not, but I do feel that a bit of gentle editing would have fixed some of the errors in the book, or at least smoothed them over some. I liked it, even though it's not my style.
blood_rose_books's review
3.0
Indie Author Brian Springer introduces the reader to Blood Money, which explores how far governments are willing to go in order to ensure that they are always able to make profit, even if it means the death of thousands.
Jessica Robbins has achieved what was thought to be impossible. She has created a vaccine for the AIDS virus. This could save and prevent the disease throughout the world. There is just one problem, the government does not want the results or her vaccine to reach the public. The "cures" for AIDS virus is too profitable to the medical industry. Jessica attempts to escape and spread the word of her research, but she is caught by the government and whisked away to a "safe house". Kelton has his own sens of morality, that some may see as skewed at time, but he always believes that he is doing something for the greater good. Kelton has been tasked to retrieve Jessica so that she is able to spread the word about her vaccine. What was suppose to be an easy extraction has turns into a game of cat and mouse where Kelton and Jessica do not know who they can trust and if the vaccine is the only reason that they are being hunted.
I think that Springer has created some interesting characters and a possible series that I think will grab peoples attention. The plot was well thought out, written and explored in this book. I think the premise that Springer presented within the book is one that is really viable because at the core governments and corporations is greed.
Kelton is a fascinating character that I really want to know more about he is a good mixture of boy scout and vigilantly with his own moral code, which I found as an interesting combination. He does not like to be call a mercenary, even though that is what he is, but he likes to believe he has a higher moral code that mercenary's do. I enjoyed learning about Kelton's past, what made him the man he is in this book. I wish we would have learned more about his training, but I can understand if Springer is going to save that for the next Kelton book.
Jessica was not my favorite character in the first part of the book, I found her just an overly sexual character and just trying to use her sexuality too much in trying to seduce Kendal. I did grow to semi like Jessica later in the book, but I just could not get past how she was portrayed in the beginning of the book too truly like her as a character. I found the questions she asked boring, and just the conversation was strained at times, and I did begin to wonder about Springer's ability to write female characters.
The book did have a few slow parts in the book, especially in the conversation between Jessica and Kelton. There were times when I wanted the conversation to end or take a different direction as there were more interesting topics that could have been discuessed but were not. Most of the conversation revolved around sex and/or Jessica trying to convince Kelton to have sex with her. Which as stated above is why Jessica was not my favorite character. There were also times where things seemed a little bit too easy for Kelton and Jessica, that it took away from the suspense and thrills that could have been in the book.
I was impressed that Springer was able to create a story, plot and characters in this short book (it was just over 219 pages on my nook). I think Springer has created a character that I would like to return to, to not only learn more about but to see how his adventures unfold. Springer is an author to watch out for as I think once he hits his stride in writing he will create some great mystery/thriller/adventure stories.
Enjoy!!!
Jessica Robbins has achieved what was thought to be impossible. She has created a vaccine for the AIDS virus. This could save and prevent the disease throughout the world. There is just one problem, the government does not want the results or her vaccine to reach the public. The "cures" for AIDS virus is too profitable to the medical industry. Jessica attempts to escape and spread the word of her research, but she is caught by the government and whisked away to a "safe house". Kelton has his own sens of morality, that some may see as skewed at time, but he always believes that he is doing something for the greater good. Kelton has been tasked to retrieve Jessica so that she is able to spread the word about her vaccine. What was suppose to be an easy extraction has turns into a game of cat and mouse where Kelton and Jessica do not know who they can trust and if the vaccine is the only reason that they are being hunted.
I think that Springer has created some interesting characters and a possible series that I think will grab peoples attention. The plot was well thought out, written and explored in this book. I think the premise that Springer presented within the book is one that is really viable because at the core governments and corporations is greed.
Kelton is a fascinating character that I really want to know more about he is a good mixture of boy scout and vigilantly with his own moral code, which I found as an interesting combination. He does not like to be call a mercenary, even though that is what he is, but he likes to believe he has a higher moral code that mercenary's do. I enjoyed learning about Kelton's past, what made him the man he is in this book. I wish we would have learned more about his training, but I can understand if Springer is going to save that for the next Kelton book.
Jessica was not my favorite character in the first part of the book, I found her just an overly sexual character and just trying to use her sexuality too much in trying to seduce Kendal. I did grow to semi like Jessica later in the book, but I just could not get past how she was portrayed in the beginning of the book too truly like her as a character. I found the questions she asked boring, and just the conversation was strained at times, and I did begin to wonder about Springer's ability to write female characters.
The book did have a few slow parts in the book, especially in the conversation between Jessica and Kelton. There were times when I wanted the conversation to end or take a different direction as there were more interesting topics that could have been discuessed but were not. Most of the conversation revolved around sex and/or Jessica trying to convince Kelton to have sex with her. Which as stated above is why Jessica was not my favorite character. There were also times where things seemed a little bit too easy for Kelton and Jessica, that it took away from the suspense and thrills that could have been in the book.
I was impressed that Springer was able to create a story, plot and characters in this short book (it was just over 219 pages on my nook). I think Springer has created a character that I would like to return to, to not only learn more about but to see how his adventures unfold. Springer is an author to watch out for as I think once he hits his stride in writing he will create some great mystery/thriller/adventure stories.
Enjoy!!!
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