A quick gun fighter. A mysterious trillionaire. A secret world where the wealthy elite steer the winds of fate through battles between champions.
Alastair Dickens needs a new duelist. A bullet forced the current one into early retirement. The replacement needs to be fast and willing to get their hands dirty. Most of all, Alastair needs a champion with nothing to lose.
Oliver Green fit the bill perfectly. He’d once had a bright future, but threw it all away in a drunken tragedy years ago. Now, he spends his days drifting through the streets of New York City drinking, fighting and trying to bury his dark past.
Alastair opens a door to a secret world for Oliver. A world flush with wealth, smoking guns and a chance for Oliver to redeem himself from past sins.
From Ashes is an adventure of high-stakes gunfights, bone-chilling conspiracies and thrilling adventures. Step into a world where a well aimed shot will make you rich and a single misstep can put you six feet in the ground.
Free on 30th Mar 24 - 3rd Apr 24
Reviews:
A quick gun fighter. A mysterious trillionaire. A secret world where the wealthy elite steer the winds of fate through battles between champions. Alastair Dickens needs a new duelist. A bullet forced the current one into early retirement. The replacement needs to be fast and willing to get their hands dirty. Most of all, Alastair […]
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Reviewer: Angel for Bookangel.
When Oliver Green is fired from his retail job, he finds himself trying to rescue a woman from a dark alley. When he is knocked out, he comes around in a hospital owned by trillionaire Alastair Dickins, who has a unique offer to work for him. Alastair is part of a unique club called "The Collective", a ruling cabal that shapes the world unseen from the shadows. To settle their differences, they have their duellist fight and accept the result instead of forcing countries to war over their desires and this is the role that Alastair would like Oliver to perform for him. Oliver accepts, not for the money, but to atone for a tragedy in his past life, one that Alastair knows all about and gives Oliver the opportunity to make the world a better place. Oliver begins his training and becomes one of the most feared and successful duellists, but over time Oliver begins to wonder if he is working for the right person and what ulterior motives Alastair might have.
This is a tense action story with a dark streak of humour running through it. The plot is starts off simply, with the pitch to Oliver, before it slowly begins to peel back it's many layers and you being to find out how much planning and detail went into the various schemes that have been set up. Looking back over the book you can see where all the pieces have been drawn from, but on a first read, each twist and turn does come by surprise as you wonder just what is going to happen next. I also appreciated that the story came full circle neatly tying up all the various threads before it ended. In part, this is not just an action piece, but a study of deciding what is right or wrong and who should have the power to change the world and leaves the choices up to the reader. The characters fit well into the world, whether it is Oliver Green trying to atone for his past mistakes or the aloof Dickins, who has more secrets than can be fathomed out. Their interactions drive both the story and the deeper meanings the book is looking at. Dickins manipulation of Green is subtle and long-standing and the reactions to how it plays out are thoughtful and well in character. The writing isn't overly descriptive, but is excellent at guiding the reader from scene to scene and giving insight into Green's thoughts and drives. The only issue I have with it is that parts of it are a little far-fetched for me. Even for the state of the story, when it appears there can be life-like robots everywhere, it becomes a little too futuristic for the story. It is supposed to be contemporary, but it sometimes feel set a little further forward in time.
Looking at the book, it is well edited, easy to read and the chapters clearly marked. There are some author's notes at the end with some details on their books if you enjoyed this one.
Overall, this was a great read, swapping ideas and actions through the book as the mysteries slowly unfold. Some of it is a little unbelievable but, if you put those aside, fans of the genres should certainly enjoy it.
Rating: TBCQuicklink to this review
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