Review: A hard book to classify, an easy one to like and recommend.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 2, 2013
This book was delightful. The dialogue was snappy, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. The dynamic between the two main characters reminded me a lot of Michael J. Sullivan's Royce and Hadrian, although the characters themselves are distinct and different. Some of the situations were fairly (and I'd guess, intentionally) ridiculous, especially whenever the mad scientist's inventions came into play. But it just contributed to the whole over-the-top action/comedy vibe. It's sort of a buddy cop movie set into a medieval fantasy mixed with a few urban fantasy tropes. Also, zombies and kick-butt female vigilantes.But it's not a farce. The action sequences were particularly well-written. Osric and Tondbert are skilled, but get through their first couple of encounters with the local undead (dubbed "lifeless") largely on luck and really good survival instincts. There are also quasi vampires called "lifeleeches" and pseudo-werecreature "animal leeches" who've been slowly draining the life out of their new jurisdiction (pun most definitely intended).All in all, it's a hard book to classify, but an easy one to like.