Review: Very good but too short
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 22, 2013
I received a copy of this book from Alexander Maisey in connection with his upcoming interview on my website. In fact, I must acknowledge that my interest in the book is what made me pursue that interview in the first place. Comics fans may not be a rare breed, but novelists who love comics are somewhat more so, and I am a fan of them.The first few chapters of Malevolence gave me a genuine powerful feeling of belonging -- like opening a great graphic novel for the first time, and knowing that I am in the hands of a master storyteller. The feel is, among those works of which I am a fan, closest to Busiek's Astro City. But soon enough, Maisey differentiates himself in a few ways from both Busiek and the mainstream comics of both DC and Marvel. There are lots of supers, and they use foul language, and they easily die.I dig it. I don't dig the bloodlust of the new DC comics -- tired of seeing Superman spit blood whenever anyone hits him in the face, still disgusted to hear that the Joker had his face removed, for what reason I can't guess -- but I like what I read in Malevolence. The ultraviolence here doesn't feel gratuitous or pandering.Maisey's prose style is very effective, and the plotting is good, too. The Machinist begins his transformation from a bad guy to a good guy in a realistic way, although there is a lot more of that transformation remaining to be told after the book is over. Really, by most accounts, this is a five-star book. I only give it four stars because of a problem that others have remarked upon also:  the length. I was reading along, and grooving to every thrilling page, and then suddenly I saw on my Kindle that I was at 91%, just when I felt as if the book was starting to heat up. And then, a few pages later, I had reached the end. It's a satisfying end, which sets up The Machinist for a new career on the good side of the superhero wars, but I was not ready for the book to end.Having discussed it via email with Mr. Maisey, I know he's aware of this concern and is planning to address it. I have no reservations about recommending this book to any fan of both comics and novels. Other than being short, it has no weaknesses, only strengths. I will read every superhero book this man writes going forward. Bravo.