Review: wOw~! And I Thought I liked "Blood Skies!"
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 23, 2011
I just finished book two in the Blood Skies Series and feel like I ate my supper...twice! Don't kid yourselves, guys, this is a main entree, no appetizer or dessert served here! Montano really understands how to deliver dark fantasy and make no mistake, it's dark.In this adventure, Southern Claw Solider, Eric Cross, takes on more than he can handle and becomes a prisoner and gladiator-of-sorts for vampires. Wanting nothing more than to survive, save his comrades and find the Woman in the Ice/Lake he does just that...with the single-minded focus only Cross possesses. I am not a big high fantasy fan but what saves the genre for me is Montano's descriptive prowess. It may not be for all, but a less adept writer could never have managed the weighty material. Look at the following example:~The undead exploded. Pale animated bodies and jagged skeletal weapons, razor vapors and icy claws, maggot hearts and grave dust, soiled black fire and cursed souls: all of it immolated within the onslaught of primal spirit matter like paper put to the flame~The entire work is a scene-scape of words. In some parts I desperately wished to escape the vividness of his writing, especially in battles, my heart raced! But there is no escape. You are IN the battle, while the melee swirls around the reader. This is a heavily descriptive work with great pacing and action throughout. Fans of high, dark fantasy are going to love this second installment in the Blood Skies Series.