Welcome to the BURN CENTER!

Hey folks, Jonny Napalm here welcoming you to my charred little corner of the sky. Here I will be sharing views on all the things I love and adore and loathe with the burning passion of a thousand suns. Be aware.. my views tend to the nerdtastic, so... you are warned.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Touch of psychic....

Anton Stout sounds like a writer after my own heart....  I suppose that could be said of most of the folks I read...still He lists himself as an avid writer, gamer, with a love of music, and sometime actor.  That being said, while having a knack for the weird... his writing style in his book Dead to Me is entirely too uneven for me to recommend, as much as it pains me to say it.  While his concept of a Department of Extraordinary Affairs isn't new... his handling of it feels very...odd.  In addition, his protagonist Simon Canderous....while gifted with an unusual "psychic talent", that hasn't been covered in many publications to date, doesn't seem to have any actual "talent" with it.  Pyschometry is a cool sounding ability.. discerning an objects history by touching it sounds all kinds of nifty, and while Mr. Stout does a good job of making the DOWNsides of the ability readily apparent, his protagonists complete lack of control over his skill/ability makes for a weak story and fairly lame character.  Things do pick up towards the end of the book, but it doesn't make up for the weaknesses of the early story.  The series has another 2 paperbacks....and I have to wonder how exactly they got picked up by ACE Fantasy...  Hopefully they develop some more cohesion through the series.  Definitely not a recommended read, but there are some great moments in it.  I just have to say I have a hard time taking a book where the "white hats" are the Fraternal Order of Goodness...and called Foggies.  It seriously took something away from the story.  

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