The book starts out in high speed. A man is in a bar with his colleagues. He leaves to go home to his wife. They have just recently married. In the parking lot he is attacked. The men cut off the fourth finger of his left hand. He mourns the loss of his wedding ring more than his finger.
I was, needless to say, hooked. Throughout the book, there are scenes of this manner, very direct, extremely dramatic, where you read it and hope that the author can continue to deliver. There were times when the book was effective for me, times when it wasn't. I felt Rector was very good at trying to explain all of the incredible things that happened in a believable way. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it felt clunky.
In addition, there are conventions that I'm eager to abandon. Why do characters always have to be rebels? What if they did follow sage advice? Wouldn't that be more devastating if they really did try to do the right thing and bad things still followed them?
In the end, I would designate this book to the classification of a fun read. Take it to the beach, take it on a plane. For writers, study his opening salvo. He does really immerse you in this world quickly.
