A review by twerkingtobeethoven
Blade of Tyshalle by Matthew Woodring Stover
3.0
Huge disappointment. Caine has an extremely short screen-time, roughly 30% of the 800+ pages are actual "acts of Caine", the rest - I'm sorry to report - is over-bloated rambling. Also, Berne is sadly missing hence "Blade of Tyshalle" lacks a real sumbitch.
Damn shame, considering [b:Heroes Die|311864|Heroes Die (The Acts of Caine, #1)|Matthew Woodring Stover|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403193753s/311864.jpg|302782] is 24 carat badassery, and the concept of "Overworld" is amazing.
So, at the end of the day, "Chapter 0" was really promising, it's an account of how Caine came to be, and probably the best part of the book. The following pages are, ah... frustrating. Here and there, you get glimpses of the badassery that made "Heroes Die" a testosterone classic, but unfortunately it's only a few bits, such as...
"I fold down all but my first finger. “Rule One: Fuck with me, you die. No warnings. No second chances.”
This causes an astonished rumble to boil up from the mass of prisoners. Adder can only stare at me like I’ve gone bugnuts.
I pop the next finger. “Rule Two: What I say, goes. It comes out of my mouth, it’s law. Break a law, you get hurt. Break it again, you die.”
Adder snorts contemptuously. “Done yet? Anything else?”
“One more,” I tell him with a shrug. “Rule Three: Fuck with my friends, it’s the same as fucking with me. When in doubt, see Rule One. So—” I lift one hand up above my head and waggle it. “How many of you want to be my friends?”
Adder gives another one of those snorts. Sounds like he’s got a turd up his nose.
“C’mon, don’t be shy,” I call. “Let’s see some hands.”
And...
Now, the catechism.
“All right, Adder,” I say. “Who’s in charge here?”
“Motherfuck—” he starts, but a twitch of my arms cuts him off.
“Let’s try that again, huh? Who’s in charge here?”
“You are,” he growls.
“Very good. Who makes the rules in the Pit?”
“You do.”
Damn, 2.5 disappointed stars.
Damn shame, considering [b:Heroes Die|311864|Heroes Die (The Acts of Caine, #1)|Matthew Woodring Stover|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403193753s/311864.jpg|302782] is 24 carat badassery, and the concept of "Overworld" is amazing.
So, at the end of the day, "Chapter 0" was really promising, it's an account of how Caine came to be, and probably the best part of the book. The following pages are, ah... frustrating. Here and there, you get glimpses of the badassery that made "Heroes Die" a testosterone classic, but unfortunately it's only a few bits, such as...
"I fold down all but my first finger. “Rule One: Fuck with me, you die. No warnings. No second chances.”
This causes an astonished rumble to boil up from the mass of prisoners. Adder can only stare at me like I’ve gone bugnuts.
I pop the next finger. “Rule Two: What I say, goes. It comes out of my mouth, it’s law. Break a law, you get hurt. Break it again, you die.”
Adder snorts contemptuously. “Done yet? Anything else?”
“One more,” I tell him with a shrug. “Rule Three: Fuck with my friends, it’s the same as fucking with me. When in doubt, see Rule One. So—” I lift one hand up above my head and waggle it. “How many of you want to be my friends?”
Adder gives another one of those snorts. Sounds like he’s got a turd up his nose.
“C’mon, don’t be shy,” I call. “Let’s see some hands.”
And...
Now, the catechism.
“All right, Adder,” I say. “Who’s in charge here?”
“Motherfuck—” he starts, but a twitch of my arms cuts him off.
“Let’s try that again, huh? Who’s in charge here?”
“You are,” he growls.
“Very good. Who makes the rules in the Pit?”
“You do.”
Damn, 2.5 disappointed stars.