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A review by mattdoylemedia
Sky Ghosts: Initiation by Alexandra Engellmann
4.0
Way back in 2016, I reviewed The Night Before, a short story set before the beginning of this book. It introduced our protagonist, Pain, and gave us a taste of what to expect from the series. I gave that story the full five out of five.
Here, we enter the full-length first novel in the series and much of what I loved about the short story is still present. Pain is a fascinating lead; she’s brash and violent, but there’s more to her than her physical acts. She’s also flanked by a much larger cast this time, which is a definite bonus too. As cool as I thought Pain was, without others to flesh the story out, I don’t think it really could have moved in the direction it needed to. From Pain’s sister Jenny to Marco and all the way back to Dave, the story is progressed as a team effort from the characters.
The action too is every bit as good as I’d hoped. It’s smooth and described vividly enough to give you a clear idea of what’s going on. That makes for some exciting scenes that absolutely speed by as you’re reading. Alexandra has a real knack for this type of writing, and those smooth bursts of violence stick with you in a good way.
Alexandra also deserves praise for the excellent cover. She is an artist, and the work she has clearly put in on the illustration used has led to a really standout piece. It captures the feel of our lead perfectly and looks absolutely beautiful.
For me, it was the pacing that let the book down though. I felt like it was a little inconsistent. At times, talk-heavy scenes were wonderful little glimpses into the characters, both in terms of themselves and how they view their allies. Other times though, they move along so slowly that your enjoyment slows along with it. The issue there is that the book went through stages for me. At its best, everything was enjoyable and really drew me in. The rest of the time though, I couldn’t actually tell you what it was that happened on the page because it all just melted together.
That being said, there were certainly more good scenes than ones that were just there. While the inconsistency did reduce my enjoyment a little, the highlights were enough to keep me interested through what felt like rough patches to me. Overall, Sky Ghosts: Initiation has plenty to offer to those who want some Urban Fantasy with an interesting edge. I give this a solid 3.5 out of 5.
Here, we enter the full-length first novel in the series and much of what I loved about the short story is still present. Pain is a fascinating lead; she’s brash and violent, but there’s more to her than her physical acts. She’s also flanked by a much larger cast this time, which is a definite bonus too. As cool as I thought Pain was, without others to flesh the story out, I don’t think it really could have moved in the direction it needed to. From Pain’s sister Jenny to Marco and all the way back to Dave, the story is progressed as a team effort from the characters.
The action too is every bit as good as I’d hoped. It’s smooth and described vividly enough to give you a clear idea of what’s going on. That makes for some exciting scenes that absolutely speed by as you’re reading. Alexandra has a real knack for this type of writing, and those smooth bursts of violence stick with you in a good way.
Alexandra also deserves praise for the excellent cover. She is an artist, and the work she has clearly put in on the illustration used has led to a really standout piece. It captures the feel of our lead perfectly and looks absolutely beautiful.
For me, it was the pacing that let the book down though. I felt like it was a little inconsistent. At times, talk-heavy scenes were wonderful little glimpses into the characters, both in terms of themselves and how they view their allies. Other times though, they move along so slowly that your enjoyment slows along with it. The issue there is that the book went through stages for me. At its best, everything was enjoyable and really drew me in. The rest of the time though, I couldn’t actually tell you what it was that happened on the page because it all just melted together.
That being said, there were certainly more good scenes than ones that were just there. While the inconsistency did reduce my enjoyment a little, the highlights were enough to keep me interested through what felt like rough patches to me. Overall, Sky Ghosts: Initiation has plenty to offer to those who want some Urban Fantasy with an interesting edge. I give this a solid 3.5 out of 5.