Bruce Blake

I first ran across Mr. Blake when I saw his second book, "All Who Wander Are Lost" in my regular daily "freebooksie.com" mailing. I am always thrilled to get those - I don't always find all of the books to my taste, but the cover of that one grabbed me right away and the description sounded interesting, so I downloaded it. I started reading it this morning before noticing it was a second in series, after "On Unfaithful Wings". After reading a few pages, I was hooked and downloaded OUF so I show more could start at the beginning. I am so glad I did.

The characters of the Icarus Fell novels are by no means bright and cheery 'angels running around with wings saving souls' and these are no bright and sparkly novels. They are dark, moody pieces with a deeply noir feeling and a sharp edge to the humour which abounds throughout the book. Icarus himself, the victim of vicious childhood abuse by a priest, finds himself lost and alone on the streets, deep into drugs and booze, traumatized past what he considers any sort of salvation at all. Murdered one night in the graveyard of the same church where his abuse took place, he awakens six months later in a nasty No-Tell Motel to find that he is a Reaper of sorts. And things get even weirder and darker after that.

It. Was. Awesome. The whole feeling of the book can be described by this quote from the early pages: "And, let's face it, if God existed, he probably looked down one day on the shite he created, packed up his tent and went somewhere else to give it another shot, hoping for better luck on the second go-round." Mr. Blake does a perfect job of pointing out the ridiculous nature of religion when looked at from a logical rather than superstitious view. The angels are, at best, incompetent clowns more intent on their political games than on actually doing good. One of the 'good' angels is guilty of rape and another is more interested in proving a point than helping Icarus save either his son or a kind-hearted selfless nun.

Is Icarus really better off helping the so-called good guys? Or are the so-called good guys so far off of reality that they don't even qualify as such any longer? Child molesting priests meant to go to heaven, nuns carted off to hell and one comment by an angel that really points out the weirdness of it all: "Murder is a tool. Just because someone kills someone else, it doesn't make them evil. You're all instruments of God." Perfect! Murdered and abused children, rape, torture. It's all good! Blake writes the story that I have always wanted to write - if there really is a God, it is removed far enough from our reality as to no longer exist, if it ever did at all. And he does it with a turn of phrase and intelligence that led me at warp speed through his writing.

Overall, this is a dark, moody piece which left me sad in places and laughing hysterically in others. A Reaper who has a solid body and can be shot, knifed and beaten - and can't really afford a car to go pick up his next soul for delivery? Love it. I am so looking forward to the next installment. If you are a fan of the old noir detective stories, the Nightside novels, or similar you will these novels. Off to read the next one! show less

I first ran across Mr. Blake when I saw his second book, "All Who Wander Are Lost" in my regular daily "freebooksie.com" mailing. I am always thrilled to get those - I don't always find all of the books to my taste, but the cover of that one grabbed me right away and the description sounded interesting, so I downloaded it. I started reading it this morning before noticing it was a second in series, after "On Unfaithful Wings". After reading a few pages, I was hooked and downloaded OUF so I show more could start at the beginning. I am so glad I did.

The characters of the Icarus Fell novels are by no means bright and cheery 'angels running around with wings saving souls' and these are no bright and sparkly novels. They are dark, moody pieces with a deeply noir feeling and a sharp edge to the humour which abounds throughout the book. Icarus himself, the victim of vicious childhood abuse by a priest, finds himself lost and alone on the streets, deep into drugs and booze, traumatized past what he considers any sort of salvation at all. Murdered one night in the graveyard of the same church where his abuse took place, he awakens six months later in a nasty No-Tell Motel to find that he is a Reaper of sorts. And things get even weirder and darker after that.

It. Was. Awesome. The whole feeling of the book can be described by this quote from the early pages: "And, let's face it, if God existed, he probably looked down one day on the shite he created, packed up his tent and went somewhere else to give it another shot, hoping for better luck on the second go-round." Mr. Blake does a perfect job of pointing out the ridiculous nature of religion when looked at from a logical rather than superstitious view. The angels are, at best, incompetent clowns more intent on their political games than on actually doing good. One of the 'good' angels is guilty of rape and another is more interested in proving a point than helping Icarus save either his son or a kind-hearted selfless nun.

Is Icarus really better off helping the so-called good guys? Or are the so-called good guys so far off of reality that they don't even qualify as such any longer? Child molesting priests meant to go to heaven, nuns carted off to hell and one comment by an angel that really points out the weirdness of it all: "Murder is a tool. Just because someone kills someone else, it doesn't make them evil. You're all instruments of God." Perfect! Murdered and abused children, rape, torture. It's all good! Blake writes the story that I have always wanted to write - if there really is a God, it is removed far enough from our reality as to no longer exist, if it ever did at all. And he does it with a turn of phrase and intelligence that led me at warp speed through his writing.

Overall, this is a dark, moody piece which left me sad in places and laughing hysterically in others. A Reaper who has a solid body and can be shot, knifed and beaten - and can't really afford a car to go pick up his next soul for delivery? Love it. I am so looking forward to the next installment. If you are a fan of the old noir detective stories, the Nightside novels, or similar you will these novels. Off to read the next one! show less

"It rained fire the day the Small Gods fled"

Thus begins When Shadows Fall, the first book in the Small Gods series by Bruce Blake and what a terrific start to one fast-paced and completely engrossing new fantasy it is. To say it begins with a bang is an understatement. There is action, fire, death, violence, and betrayal and that is just in the Prologue. The rest of the book gets even better.

The story is divided into parts with different narrators and different speech patterns. In one, royal show more twins find a magic scroll which cannot be burned and which contains a prophecy which seems to pertain to one of the twins, a boy. He sets out in secret to prove himself but it seems from the start that it can only end badly for him for he has been misled in the level of his fighting skills.

In another part of the story, a sailor has fallen into the sea and, when he manages to reach land, is mistaken for another part of the prophecy, ‘the man from across the sea’, He, too, is unequipped to deal with the repercussions of this mistaken identity. He worries that he will be returned to the sea but, in fact, that should be the least of his concerns.

And in a third part, a woman who has spent her life as a breeder for a Goddess has become barren. She knows no other life than in this service and she fears what will happen if her secret is discovered. Her fears, as she will soon learn, are well-founded.

Like, I suppose, most people, I always know how much I like a book by how hard it is to put down, how fast I turn the pages, and how sorry I am to see the end. I read When Shadows Fall in an afternoon – suffice it to say I really really liked it and hope the next book in the series will be coming out soon – like right now soon. A definite high recommendation to anyone who enjoys a good epic fantasy tale. show less

Priestess: Rak'bana

Priest: Ine'resi, her twin brother

The Goddess is angry and rains fire down on the temples. They have no choice but to flee. They must pass on the warning to future generations.

Is it the ultimate betrayal or punishment?

"We are no longer human, Vesi."
"No, I suppose not. We are closer to Gods, aren't we? Small gods perhaps."

That was in the opening pages. Makes me think there will be much action to come.
I meet Horace, a sailor, who will hold a prominent place in the novel. I show more couldn't help but laugh at his thoughts. I love him. He is rude and crude.

...felt pretty good on the whole for a man what been drowned like a bilge rat and ate by an angry god.

Now, we meet Danya and Teryk, the prince and princess.

I love the princess. She has a great attitude about life and runs barefoot through the book. She is matter of fact and has no air of superiority.

Trenan is a master swordsman and we are going to spend a lot of time with him. By the time he grew on my, I wanted him at my side, always.

Danya and Teryk find the scroll the Gods had hidden. It holds magic for Teryk and he feels it holds his destiny. I knew what he was going to do...I knew what she would do too. I was surprised she fell for his ruse, but they are both young and naive. I worry about Teryk. I don't think he's capable of taking care of himself. He is a lousy swordsman and doesn't realize how helpless he really is.

In the beginning I was confused. There was so much going on and the back and forth had my head spinning.I find this happens to me sometimes, when the book is divided into 'episodes' and I feel like I am reading the introduction.

When Shadows Fall by Bruce Blake hooked me in the beginning, but I think most of the book laid the groundwork for the future books and it took a while for the pieces to begin to fall into place. I have become invested in the characters and wonder what will become of them. What dangers and perils will they need to survive, in order to fulfill the scrolls destiny. And I wonder, who's destiny is it? With all these questions, I must know the answers.

Oh man, it's just getting good and I can feel the end approaching.I read along, rating the book in my head. I do that sometimes. It was a three for most of the novel and I had to keep it there, but those darn cliffhangers, and, yes, there is more than one, have me saying, "Where is the next book?"

I anticipate the story getting better and I will find out, in Book II.

I received this ARC in return for an honest review. show less