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Decoy (Assassin's Rising #1)

by S.B. Sebrick (Goodreads Author)

3.55 of 5 stars 3.55 · rating details · 20 ratings · 11 reviews

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Published (first published September 2nd 2011)

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Mar 29, 2013 Literary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kathy's Review:

The fantasy genre is not my favorite. I am not well-read in that genre, don't know the major players, and don't know what separates good fantasy from bad. I can only go by my personal taste.

Decoy, the first book in a trilogy, follows the story of Kaltor, a highborn young man with amazing powers - which he must keep hidden in order to blend in with his fellow trainees. Kaltor and his training pals are quickly thrown into a very dangerous situation. The action picks up and you are t...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Once Upon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

If you like books that start off slow and try to keep you drawn in page after page without having you stop to do anything like housework or take after the kids then this is the book for you. When I first started reading it. It started off really slow and they kept rambling on about certain things that went on for pages and pages. I was wondering when they were going to get to the point. I had to put the book down a couple of times and get back to it to see if it can get better.. The author made...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Charlotte Black rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is rated 3.5 out of 5

S.B Sebrick makes a very promising start – no introductions needed, the reader is sent smash bang into the thick of the action without so much as a by-your-leave. All in one great swoop we are plunged into a world with things like ‘Varadours’, ‘Stunts’ ‘Skin Vision’ and ‘Viper Hounds’. In fact, the author trusts his reader with a lot but risks alienating us by introducing so much so quickly.

There’s a lot going on. The hero must hide his true identity, his true powe...more This book is rated 3.5 out of 5

S.B Sebrick makes a very promising start – no introductions needed, the reader is sent smash bang into the thick of the action without so much as a by-your-leave. All in one great swoop we are plunged into a world with things like ‘Varadours’, ‘Stunts’ ‘Skin Vision’ and ‘Viper Hounds’. In fact, the author trusts his reader with a lot but risks alienating us by introducing so much so quickly.

There’s a lot going on. The hero must hide his true identity, his true powers, deal with parental relationships, friendships, and a major evil (as well as his guilt for his part in releasing this evil) – not to mention his life’s quest to find his brother. This variety helps keep the action going, and there’s certainly plenty of that. Indeed, one of the author’s skills is in describing battle scenes, which are frequent and satisfying.

On the downside, with so much going on it’s hard to feel emotionally invested in any of it. We don’t really get to know the hero, Kaltor, very well through his actions and decisions, let alone the other characters in the book. His relationships, even with his parents, feel stiff and superficial, though the author does better with Kaltor’s friends, with whom there’s an easy camaraderie and banter.

My usual complaint stands: the manuscript could have really done with a good strong edit to iron out such problems as ‘He couldn’t understand why Crevan was still impossible to find, despite such blatant circumstances’ and ‘the second part was a lie of course, and the truth only partly so’. There’s also the occasional use of really bad English ‘“If you had not of eaten that recipe you could have been Viper Hound food long before you even got the chance to miss being with the girls.” If I could get my hands on this manuscript, I’d also want to edit out some pretty flimsy clichés (“You have a good heart. Don’t ever let them take that from you” would be the first to get the sack).

Despite having a lot of the elements required for exciting, interesting fiction, the novel never quite ignites. We never really get to know about the things that matter; the hero, his loved ones, and the world he’s fighting to protect are all held at arm’s length, which is a disappointment.

If the author could learn the trick of placing his reader in the action, allowing his characters to change and grow according to decisions they must make, if he could get us to understand what’s really at stake in this fascinating world that he’s created – if he could marry all this with better dialogue and his skill with pace and world-building, we would really have something here.

Even still, there’s a lot to like from this promising author. His innovation, imagination and ability to describe action and move a story forward are excellent building blocks, and I have high hopes that more will come.

Review by SCD Goff(less)

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May 18, 2012 Ron rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book promised action and adrenaline, and that it does deliver. We’re dumped smack in the middle of a race for Kaltor’s life... and the end is only more tense than that.

The world Sebrick trusts us into is extremely different from ours, and if you think you’re going to find your average elves and wizards, you’re sadly mistaken. Special abilities for Kaltor’s folk are part of biology, and the creatures they face and share their world with are the product of a great imagination. It’s true that...more This book promised action and adrenaline, and that it does deliver. We’re dumped smack in the middle of a race for Kaltor’s life... and the end is only more tense than that.

The world Sebrick trusts us into is extremely different from ours, and if you think you’re going to find your average elves and wizards, you’re sadly mistaken. Special abilities for Kaltor’s folk are part of biology, and the creatures they face and share their world with are the product of a great imagination. It’s true that there are some things, like the Viper Hound’s ability to change shape, that actually made me stop and think... “is that biologically possible?” which I realize is a very odd question to be asking in high fantasy but that’s just me.

The fact is that I like my worlds to be as real and coherent as this one, and in that aspect there were things I liked and didn’t like so much about Decoy. On the one hand, I guarantee that this world is original, different, and very rich. On the other hand, there were so many things going on right from the start that I had to sit back and work it all out. This is probably something that only I, or other world-building obsessed folk would do, but it’s one of the reasons why I’d recommend this novel to all high fantasy and action lovers instead of to everyone and their mother.

The other reason has something to do with the reading experience itself, and it might be my inner linguistic speaking. The battles were amazing, the banter between friends casual and convincing, and in general I really enjoyed the author’s style... which made me notice when there was a repetition or an awkward sentence here or there. Still, this is not really bothersome, and certainly not a dominant issue.

I still recommend reading Decoy if you want to check out something different in a genre that, too often, feels fully explored and charted. If you want a fast read, with a complex world, an epic evil and more mundane worries to keep our hero grounded (loved his family relasionthips)... then you probably should read this one! To be honest, I intend to read the next volume as soon as possible, because there’s so much more detail I want about the world, the characters, the consequences to the happenings on this book.(less)

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Feb 01, 2012 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

When I first read the synopsis of Decoy I thought, Assassin? Badass! I can't wait to start this one! And I'm not even going to lie, the beginning had me a little worried that it wasn't going to be this crazy-badass adventure I was so stoked for. But let me tell you, I was quickly reassured once it got warmed up. It then double kicked into major badass mode and the rest was nothing but a rush! <-- the good kind! The action was so amazing I couldn't pull myself away from this book. Kaltor has s...more

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Apr 16, 2012 Star (The Bibliophilic Book Blog) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Decoy has a slow start, but this is because of the deceptively intricate character- and world-building the author is doing in the beginning…it is well worth the wait to get to the action! Once the foundation was built, Decoy shot ahead full steam. Not only was there a ton of action, but the characters came to be ones you cared about. The villains were wickedly evil and assassins are a subject you don’t always read about often in novels – and root for! The family dynamics were spot on between Kal...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: blog-reviews

What's not to love in a fantasy book about assassins? I read the blurb and was very excited to check this one out and extremely psyched to see there were several books in the series available so if I liked it I could go straight through.

The main character, Kaltor, starts off in mortal danger and Sebrick uses it to introduce some of the special abilities that the assassins harness. It is also revealed that Kaltor must hide his true abilities from all of the others in the area or give away a majo...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Sarah Castillo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

S. B. Sebrick's high fantasy thriller, Decoy (Assassin's Rising), is one of those books that show that sometimes I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. It's about a budding assassin with a secret, who is also a boy on the verge of manhood learning to deal with future responsibilities and his changing body. Does this sound like it's a trotting out of some of the most cliche tropes in Fantasy?

That's what I thought. I spent the first couple of chapters sighing, whinging to myself, flailing a...more S. B. Sebrick's high fantasy thriller, Decoy (Assassin's Rising), is one of those books that show that sometimes I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. It's about a budding assassin with a secret, who is also a boy on the verge of manhood learning to deal with future responsibilities and his changing body. Does this sound like it's a trotting out of some of the most cliche tropes in Fantasy?

That's what I thought. I spent the first couple of chapters sighing, whinging to myself, flailing about, and otherwise making an ass of myself. In my defense, the book had a pretty slow start. The magic system took awhile to fully flesh out, and while there was a great hook in the first few chapters, there was a definite slow down after that, which lasted for a good while.

I was wrong though. Once the groundwork was laid, I was in for a great story. It wasn't just the action, though there was a lot of that. It's an assassin story after all. There's a great relationship going on between Kaltor, our main character, and his parents. His mother is a steady, calm, religious woman, who doesn't know the truth of Kaltor's career path. The guilt this causes Kaltor feels real and present and I'm looking forward to how that plays out in future books. She's such a lovely, accepting lady, but I'm definitely worried about how this revelation is going to affect her.

Then there's Kaltor's father. He's ambitious, and he's not just ambitious about his research, he's ambitious about Kaltor's future. All the pieces are falling into place, regardless of Kaltor's will, to propel him toward a future of importance, and it's all his father's doing. On the one hand, I like that he cares so much about Kaltor's future, on the other, I'm very annoyed at him for ignoring Kaltor's concerns, his lies to Kaltor and his mother, and his condescending assumption that he knows best for everyone.

I think it's this relationship dynamic that makes Kaltor's situation so relatable. I think we've all experienced parents having different expectations for us, and the anxiety of "the secret" whether that secret's a big thing of not.

All in all, despite a few problems (slow start) this is a great book. I really cared about the characters, the villains are unique, assassins are always cool, the magic system is intriguing, and it touches on issues that I think relate to a lot of readers. Definitely a great book.

Check out my other reviews at my blog (less)

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Mar 21, 2013 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed the story, but I felt there were several unresolved plot points (yes, I realize this is a series, but it still felt incomplete) and the version I received contained countless grammatical and spelling errors. I'd still recommend for young adults who enjoy the fantasy genre. This has the makings of a very interesting series.

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Nov 08, 2012 Hannah (Jaedia) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, fantasy, fiction, indie, received-for-review, epic-fantasy, assassins

I read half of this book back in March, finding it a little slow going and finding myself in a completely different reading mood, I decided to put it aside for a bit.
Fast forward to November and I picked it back up. So I had to regain my bearings but the last half was much more interesting, not that the first half wasn't just as I said, a little slow. The final battle and the ending however... wow. This is a pretty epic story. And on top of that, wraps up well while leaving me desperate for more...more

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Jan 30, 2012 Chayse Sundt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Review Coming Soon!

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Mar 25, 2013 Teigan H marked it as to-read

Feb 04, 2013 Kelly Bennett marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Feb 01, 2013 Nathaniel Blashka rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jan 29, 2013 Tiffany Patterson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jan 01, 2013 Alexandra May rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jan 26, 2013 Annwyn Geniel marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Dec 11, 2012 Ashley marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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Oct 30, 2012 Matt rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oct 24, 2012 Brandy marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Oct 22, 2012 Katy marked it as buy-me · review of another edition

Oct 12, 2012 Nicole marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, owned-ebook, possiably-read

Oct 04, 2012 Chiara marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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Jul 20, 2012 Mcullen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jul 12, 2012 Elodin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 16, 2012 Luke marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 09, 2012 Andrea marked it as to-read

Shelves: hunters-assassins, demons, fantasy

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About S.B. Sebrick

I spent most of my childhood and teen years living in Vancouver, Washington (No that’s not the capital and no, I’m not Canadian) but I have also lived in Utah, New York and Argentina. I have a fascination with Epic Fantasy and have alot of books in mind for this genre before I move on to other ones. I’ve spent years writing as a hobby and am taking my first steps towards a writing career by self-p...more

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Decoy (Assassin's Rising #1)

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