Stuart Jaffe

Immortal Killers (Nathan K Book 1) by Stuart Jaffe is a great action, adventure, fantasy story that grabs the reader right away and keeps them until the end, and then won't let go! Our hero, a hard working guy just had to be in the wrong place and gets killed but sucked up into a immortal body that can house an extra soul. This extra soul comes in handy so if he should die, the immortal just loses the stolen soul and keeps his own. Our hero, Nathan, decides that he is going to fight and not show more be sent off and takes over the immortal body. So now, dead to his family and friends, he is in a new immortal body and surrounded by a bunch of crazy immortals that play not-so-nice games. It is so exciting! Starting on book 2 soon! Great plot and characters, lots of twists and turns and crazy creatures of the immortal kind! Love it! show less

Southern Charm (Max Porter Mysteries #2) by Stuart Jaffe is book 2 in the series but can be read as a stand alone. This time the team of detectives (Max, his wife that can see ghosts, and the Ghost himself) is hired by a ghost art forger to find a lost painting. Others are after the painting also that almost gets them killed, again. There are lots of twists and turns that the reader, at least this reader, didn't see coming. It is an action packed read, with humor, suspense, new and old show more villains, and witches, ghosts, and more. Great read. I am in love with this series. show less

The Way of the Black Beast (The Malja Chronicles #1) by Stuart Jaffe is an awesome, female kick ass lead character, fantasy/sci-fi novel that kept me intrigued, excited, and tensed up. I felt like I was doing the fighting the writing was so realistic. My muscles were so sore from tightening up! I love his books anyway and I loved this book. I got the audio narration so I could read and/or listen which is great and only a few dollars more but well worth it if I needed to do something I can show more continue the story. This has great characters, a wonderful plot, and great action, magic, fantasy, and more! I can't say enough about this book. I have book 2 read to go! show less

Disclaimer: This was read and reviewed at the request of the author, who provided me with a free digital copy of the book in order for me to do so.

Stuart Jaffe’s THE WAY OF THE BLACK BEAST is a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel featuring a strong female lead who is skilled with weapons and fighting. Abused and abandoned as a child, Malja is out for revenge. In her quest to find the responsible parties and exact her revenge, Malja is accompanied by a small, diverse (perhaps mismatched?) band. show more Most of them are human. One is mute. Membership in this band is rather fluid. While these companions generally help her in her quest but they occasionally cause diversions. Sometimes they get in her way; sometimes they draw her away.

Malja's personality comes across well. She’s a no-nonsense, abrupt woman who knows what drives her but who feels conflicted about killing. Jaffe skillfully lets Tommy express strong feelings, even though he can’t talk. Fawbry is a complex character, not very likable but not completely despicable, and certainly not predictable. Tumus is a human-like being who seems to spend much of every waking moment in sorrow and despair.

The basic storyline is a classic one. The protagonist sets out to achieve her revenge but endures pangs of conscience along the journey. The guilty parties meet their demise in the end, but not because the protagonist is successful. Instead, fate has judged them and found them wanting, and the protagonist has a role in that judgment being meted out. The protagonist has come to a deeper knowledge of themselves and has made a change for the better. Along the path to self-knowledge, the protagonist encounters various obstacles, both physical and psychological, that stand in the way of reaching their goal.

World-building in science fiction and fantasy stories is critical. Many fantasy novels are lengthy simply because it takes a lot of words — even in the hands of a talented writer — to create a world for which we are willing to suspend our disbelief. I found Jaffe’s world-building challenging in several areas.

First, the naming of people (and vaguely-human creatures). There is a mix of names in this novel that range from the commonplace (e.g., Tommy) to the unusual (Tumus the Chi-Chun). I was confused why there should be such a mix. To me, there should be at least a suggestion of a certain logic behind selecting names, even those that are totally contrived. The names in this novel seemed randomly assigned.

Second, the history of Jaffe's world. This history includes a catastrophic event called the “Devastation.” Because of the event (described as an explosion), the appearance of technology (including electrical power), and the use of some common names, it would be natural to assume that Malja’s world is a future version of our own world. (The use of titles such as "Mayor" and "Ms." also contributes to this.) The nature of the Devastation is never adequately explained, nor how magic and technology are able to coexist (with magic ascendant).

Third, creatures. Strange and dangerous creatures -- mutants from the Devastation -- are commonplace in this world. Jaffe is certainly imaginative in coming up with these creatures, but I felt that the story attempted to weave in too many kinds of creatures too quickly. In the first quarter of the book alone, there are seven of these creatures introduced. Masters at creating post-apocalyptic bestiaries, such as Terry Brooks and Justin Cronin, only introduce as many new creatures as they need — no more and no less — and they do this at a more measured pace.

Finally, Jaffe's systems of magic - involving tattoos and music - are well-developed, but religion seems out of place. The relationship between the two predominant religions is explained, but the concept of religion really plays no important part in the story and could have been left out.

The story of Malja and her companions continues in a handful of sequels to this novel. I expect that the unanswered questions from this first story are answered in the later tales. In the end, THE WAY OF THE BLACK BEAST was entertaining, but not compelling. show less