A review by mayoroffailure
Empire State by Adam Christopher
3.0
I think that everyone finds a book during their lifetime that seems to have been written just for them, Mr. Christopher's Empire State series was written just for me.
As soon as I read the synopsis on goodreads my mind just about exploded at the idea of it. Detectives? Noir? Superheroes? Alternate Worlds? All in one novel! Too good to be true. Not only is it true but Mr. Christopher has quite a good start on his hands. For those that dont know the story here's a quick rundown:
The last fight between two prohibition era superheroes ends in an explosion that causes a rift in the universe. As a result of that rift the Empire State is born, a depressing and sad copy of New York in a steam punkish future. Rad Bradley is a Private Detective in the Empire State and after he makes a surprising discovery he uncovers a plot to close the rift and destroy the city all together.
The plot is a truly original concept that made me giddy whenever I read the short blurb, but the book delivers in its own right. Firstly, its a remarkably easy read, and if you were determined I doubt you'd have an issue finishing it in a day. But Secondly you never see whats coming, whenever you think that one of the characters is on a certain side they change and whenever you think you have the plot figured out you dont. As a result Mr. Christopher has crafted a story that will blindside you and keep you guessing until the last eight pages.
I absolutely love the pacing and storytelling used in this novel and I cant wait to begin the next one in the series. At this point you may be asking, however, why exactly I gave it three stars, and my reasoning is actually rather simple. While Empire State is a novel that I'll probably read again it has one fundamental issue, the characters. This is not to say that the characters were cliche or bad, they were simply underdeveloped, and as a result you dont find yourself caring much about what happens to them. This was a big misstep on Mr. Christopher's part because, at least for me, characterization is a big deal; If I dont care about the characters and what is happening to them then I become less apt to actually keep reading.
That is not to say, however, that you shouldn't read this book, the story is marvelously entertaining and a truly original piece of Sci Fi. Like many good pulp novels, you quickly drink down the sweet syrup of its prose and are left thirsting for more at the pages end.
As soon as I read the synopsis on goodreads my mind just about exploded at the idea of it. Detectives? Noir? Superheroes? Alternate Worlds? All in one novel! Too good to be true. Not only is it true but Mr. Christopher has quite a good start on his hands. For those that dont know the story here's a quick rundown:
The last fight between two prohibition era superheroes ends in an explosion that causes a rift in the universe. As a result of that rift the Empire State is born, a depressing and sad copy of New York in a steam punkish future. Rad Bradley is a Private Detective in the Empire State and after he makes a surprising discovery he uncovers a plot to close the rift and destroy the city all together.
The plot is a truly original concept that made me giddy whenever I read the short blurb, but the book delivers in its own right. Firstly, its a remarkably easy read, and if you were determined I doubt you'd have an issue finishing it in a day. But Secondly you never see whats coming, whenever you think that one of the characters is on a certain side they change and whenever you think you have the plot figured out you dont. As a result Mr. Christopher has crafted a story that will blindside you and keep you guessing until the last eight pages.
I absolutely love the pacing and storytelling used in this novel and I cant wait to begin the next one in the series. At this point you may be asking, however, why exactly I gave it three stars, and my reasoning is actually rather simple. While Empire State is a novel that I'll probably read again it has one fundamental issue, the characters. This is not to say that the characters were cliche or bad, they were simply underdeveloped, and as a result you dont find yourself caring much about what happens to them. This was a big misstep on Mr. Christopher's part because, at least for me, characterization is a big deal; If I dont care about the characters and what is happening to them then I become less apt to actually keep reading.
That is not to say, however, that you shouldn't read this book, the story is marvelously entertaining and a truly original piece of Sci Fi. Like many good pulp novels, you quickly drink down the sweet syrup of its prose and are left thirsting for more at the pages end.