Box of Devotion short review

Tuesday, May 1, 2012


Last week, I wrote a post about the release of a short story by Anthony Huso called the Box of Devotion.  That story, independently published by Huso, is the first (there should be more of them) tie-in 'tale' set in the same world as the author's first book, The Last Page.  The short only details at 0.99$.

I have read the Box of Devotion and found it quite interesting.  The story may be quite short, only 15 pages (or 5305 words), but that's enough for the kind of account told by Huso. This may be the first attempt for him at short stories but he nailed it right. Here's the blurb:

Set in Anthony Huso's grim fantasy world, this short story takes a look at one night in Isca City's slums, seen through the eyes of a young thug whose street name is Roach. Roach's night is full of adventure -- a kind of broken and dark reflection of the knight's quest wherein he discovers a treasure, secures a magical weapon and follows a spiritual vision toward a final battle to defend his lady's honor. 
Bridging the gap between Huso's two wonderfully weird novels "The Last Page" and "Black Bottle", this story answers the question: What was in that box Sena told Caliph to bury in the bogs? 

So, is the answer to that question really important?  Not that much even though it's intriguing, but the source behind it, the brief adventure of Roach is what's appealing and entertaining here. I think that a collection of several of these ties-in would be a great idea.  Even for a short, my comment on the author's writing skills is still accurate:
In connection with the enriched world building comes a complete new set of creative and complex vocabulary elements and pronunciations and a brilliant technique in term of prose. The author writing is precise with short paragraphs full of clever adjectives and metaphors. A feast for the fan of stylistic devices.
Is it worth the time?  Certainly! 

Box of Devotion review score: 8.5 / 10

0 comments:

a Fantasy Reader All rights reserved © Blog Milk - Powered by Blogger