Review: SLASHBACK

Slashback by Rob Thurman
Book 8 of the Cal Leandros series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: paperback

About Slashback:

I stopped and let them circle me, first because it was intriguing and, second, because, honestly, what could they do? Only knives, but all armed, and that made them even more interesting. Interesting. Fun.

Playtime…

Taking on bloodthirsty supernatural monsters is how Caliban and Niko Leandros make a living. But years ago—before they became a force to be reckoned with—the brothers were almost victims of a very human serial killer.

Almost.

Unfortunately for them, that particular depraved killer was working as apprentice to a creature far more malevolent—the legendary Spring-heeled Jack. He’s just hit town. He hasn’t forgotten what the Leandros brothers did to his murderous protégé. He hasn’t forgotten what they owe him.

And now they are going to pay… and pay… and pay.…

Source: Info in the About Slashback was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15808602-slashback on 09/03/2013.

My Thoughts:

I still think that Sam & Dean Winchester are very good visual representations of Cal and Niko Leandros.

I was reading Spider's Bite when my copy of Slashback arrived in the mail. Normally I would drop all other books I was reading when a Rob Thurman book arrives, but I was just getting to the juicier part of Spider's Bite and the fact that I was a tad disappointed with the last Cal Leandros book, so consequently I ended up reading both books at the same time. I listen to Spider's Bite in work and read Slashback at home. At the end of both books, I got both stories mixed up in my head that I had to think for a minute to sort out whether this aspect of the story belonged to Slashback or Spider's Bite... Anyway, it contributed to my reading this book longer than I usually do a Rob Thurman book. Plus the fact that I was trying to stretch it out as long as I can and savour the book rather than rush through it because Rob Thurman is obviously back in her game with this book. And I didn't want the wonderful reading time to end so soon. What can I say? I got another quality fix for my Cal Leandros addiction. Plus the story telling quality is Rob Thurman's usual masterful quality again. The plot although not that convoluted, is none-the-less entrancing. I am very happy with this book. the only sad thing is it has to end and now I have to wait another year for the next book.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 4.5
Plot = 4.5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 cherries


Books in the Cal Leandros series:

Review: DOUBLETAKE

Doubletake by Rob Thurman
Book 7 of the Cal Leandros series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: paperback

About Doubletake:

Half-human/half-monster Cal Leandros knows that family is a pain. But now that pain belongs to his half-brother, Niko. Niko's shady father is in town, and he needs a big favor. Even worse is the reunion being held by the devious Puck race - including the Leandros' friend, Robin - featuring a lottery that no Puck wants to win.

As Cal tries to keep both Niko and Robin from paying the ultimate price for their kin, a horrific reminder from Cal's own past arrives to remind him that blood is thicker than water - and that's why it's so much more fun to spill.

Source: Info in the About Doubletake was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11473820-doubletake on 03/10/2012.

My Thoughts:

I've waited for a long time for this book. When my pre-order did not come I tried buying it again but amazon keeps sending me this stupid excuses about changed delivery estimate dates, la di bla di bla... I emailed Rob Thurman and she said it was due to the fact that the UK publisher was releasing the book several months after the US release date and that UK retail outlets are obliged to comply with the UK publisher including amazon UK. What bullshit!! So I have to order on the internet from a US seller on exorbitant mailing charges and wait two months for it to arrive!! And then, when I finally got it.... I don't know if anybody noticed but I had this book in my "Reading" widget in the sidebar for the longest time. And it was that long that it took me to read this book. For some reason my mind wanders when I start reading this book and then I have to find the motivation to pick the book up again. That is really strange for me because I am an old Rob Thurman fan and most specially, a die-hard fan of the Cal Leandros series. And probably the same reason why I am a Supernatural TV series fan too. So I am at a loss why this book is dragging... The story is good as any Cal Leandros book is. The "family" theme that ran throughout the book was quite good. The plot is good. But for some strange reason this book dragged big time for me. However, I still enjoyed it and would give it an overall rating of 4 out of 5 (not without bias here with me being a Cal fanatic), but I wouldn't be pre-ordering Slashback (Book 8) anymore (like I did with this book).

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = 2.5
Plot = 4

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Books in the Cal Leandros series:

Review: BLACKOUT

Blackout by Rob Thurman
Book 6 of the Cal Leandros series

Genre: urban fantasy

About Blackout:

I was alone, and I was lost. I didn’t know where I was; I didn’t know who I was. It doesn’t get more lost than that. Knowing what I knew and not knowing anything else at all, why would I want to be in the darkness where monsters hide?

Because killers hide there, too…

Half-human Cal Leandros has always walked a bloody line between keeping his mortal soul free and clear (sort of) and unleashing the horror of his otherworldly heritage. The one thing that’s always saved him is the memory of his brother, Niko, his friends, and those he loves.

Until now.

Cal wakes up on a beach littered with the recently slaughtered remains of a variety of hideous creatures that were obviously looking for trouble. The fact that he was the one doing the slaughtering doesn’t bother him. The fact that he feels like a natural-born killer doesn’t either. What bothers him is that Cal doesn’t remember Cal anymore…

And he’s not sure he cares.

Source: Info in the About Blackout was taken from the author's website at http://robthurman.net/cal-leandros/blackout/ on 14/09/2010.

Review:
Book 5 all but screamed "Cal-is-going-Auphe-in-book6-and-it-is-so-not-good", so I was totally expecting something along those lines. That expectation kinda made me dread reading this book, at the same time look forward to it. Ambivalent much? Anyway, I was already about three quarters into the book (almost ending) and I was still waiting for this "Cal-is-going-Auphe-and-its-not-good" story line. So I thought to myself... "was that pointers in book 5 wrong??"... Well, it wasn't. Not really... until I got to the end. As you can see the plot is twisty enough that even a long time Cal Leandros reader like me cannot see where the story was going. I like that in a book. Because sometimes after reading a series for so long I can tell what is going to happen next. It takes a lot out of the book then. So much so that I tend to stop reading that series even if it was good the first few books, because it then becomes same old, same old. Like what I experienced with the Carpathian series. So the Cal Leandros series hasn't lost it's shine on me yet. And I like the fact that every book in the series gives a good resolution to the story. That is important to me because I hate being strung along hanging for another year. Authors that do that, I tend to avoid. And this book ended with a good resolution. Although it also gives out pointers to what is going to happen to the next book like book 5 did, enough to keep the reader interested in the series but the story did not end with a cliffhanger.

Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries


Books in the Cal Leandros series: