Review: Viva La Novella!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 28, 2013
by Laura Masciarelli, author ofQuestI found Shadowcursed on LittleHyuts.blogspot.com when the author, Gelo Fleisher, was spotlighted on that website--the story seemed to be something completely different from the usual zombie/vampire/werewolf book.  I loved this book and loved the fact that I could read it in one evening.  As opposed to some other novellas I'm reviewing, Shadowcursed is a complete book in 76 pages, no sequels, no serial novelization that leaves you hanging.An aging thief manages a heist from a nobleman and steals a ruby statue with otherworldly powers, which both the nobleman and a villain value more than anything in the world.  Throw in a beautiful woman, mysterious and shadowy, and the author has created a story that truly is unique.  What stuck me at once was the rich descriptiveness of his writing.  I once read that Dickens wrote as if his stories could be easily translated into movies and I felt the same quality here-it was if the author was describing a play he was watching, giving me feeling of being in the scene.  When Bolen, the thief, is skittering across the roof my heart beat faster.The characterizations are superb.  Bolen is no one-dimensional thief-he is fraught with anxiety, wondering if he can still pull off a job, and then when he does, for how much longer will he be able to do so.  The monk, the nobleman, the beautiful lady all have complete personalities.Best of all was the story, unusual and unpredictable.  Bolen fences the statue and it is chopped up into little sellable pieces and as much as I wished otherwise, it was the end of the statue.  It was irrevocably gone and I realized how seldom does this happen in a novel. I kept turning the pages, unable to fathom what might come next.  And, with a remarkable twist at the end, I was left with a feeling of surprised wonder.What I loved about it: Everything!  With the unpredictable story, the fleshed-out characterizations, and beautifully descriptive writing, this is a nearly perfect book!Overall:  5+ stars!  I'll be watching out for more from this author!