A review by duffypratt
Attack of the Fiend by Joseph Delaney
3.0
Another solid installment in the continuing adventures of Tom Ward. This book worked less well as a stand-alone, mostly because the characters mainly fail to achieve the goals they set for themselves at the beginning. And when there is success, it comes more from some outside agency than from the initiative of the characters themselves.
The other thing that bothered me here was, for the first time, I think this book suffered from the "Red Shirt of Death" syndrome. I get the feeling that the last thing anyone should want to be is an old friend of the Spook's at the start of one of these books.
Once again, I thought the writing was straightforward and solid. The characters are staying true to themselves for the most part. In this book, Tom comes across as a bit stupider than in the earlier ones, but to a certain extent that may just be the combination of awakening hormones and the "glamour" that witches use on him. There are at least two times when Tom should have been much more wary that he is. His tendency to rush off to try to help people by himself is part of his character. But by now he should have enough experience to know that he often needs help.
All in all, I thought this was a slight step down from the last two books, but its still quite good, and I'm looking forward to getting my copy of the next one, hopefully before Christmas.
The other thing that bothered me here was, for the first time, I think this book suffered from the "Red Shirt of Death" syndrome. I get the feeling that the last thing anyone should want to be is an old friend of the Spook's at the start of one of these books.
Once again, I thought the writing was straightforward and solid. The characters are staying true to themselves for the most part. In this book, Tom comes across as a bit stupider than in the earlier ones, but to a certain extent that may just be the combination of awakening hormones and the "glamour" that witches use on him. There are at least two times when Tom should have been much more wary that he is. His tendency to rush off to try to help people by himself is part of his character. But by now he should have enough experience to know that he often needs help.
All in all, I thought this was a slight step down from the last two books, but its still quite good, and I'm looking forward to getting my copy of the next one, hopefully before Christmas.