Raven's Song Book 1 of Inoki's Game by I. A. Ashcroft
*An eBook & Audio Review 
You know you've done well when you jump in on two giveaways and win both, on the same book! When I received one newsletter announcing a new dystopian ebook- I said "Yes!". Then I was offered, by another newsletter the audiobook, Again, I said, "Yes" and I instantly began to salivate like one of Pavlov's dogs! I entered on one day and was downloading the next. That's like music to this book reviewer- erm... well maybe not music. You know what I mean!
Raven's Song is a dystopian fantasy, written by I. A. Ashcroft and is book one in an apparent series. I don't know much about Ashcroft but from what I've seen so far, he may not be too bad. The guy can write a story, but I was a bit torn on whether I enjoyed the read or not. I'll go into all that- first: the book cover.
The cover is cool- even a bit mysterious & magical, which fits the theme of this story. There's some serious strangeness too but it's Chicago. What can you expect? LOL (no offense). Though it's not one of those that automatically captures the eye, it is a nice cover. I can't say anything negative about. It's simple, yet perfection for the storyline.
The story is written from two POV's in third person. There's the main character, Jackson, who's backstory and development is written exceptionally well. He's got issues- like someone's poisoning him, he sees ravens everywhere and he's got people after him and he didn't do anything wrong! Then there's Anne. She was found stark naked and hasn't a clue where she is or when... Oh, and she has magical powers! In the first few chapters on her, she's tranq'd, kidnapped and imprisoned without a clue as to why! Due to they way they meet, they feel they need to stick together. They have so much in common: they have abilities that are unexplained and they are hunted.
Set in a futuristic, dystopian society where the world's been nuked and inhabitants are suffering radiation poisoning and mutations, it's hard to survive. New York residents dwell beneath a dome but it's not much protection. Those like Jackson and Anne are regulated by a group called The Order, but there's not much help there. With people after them, they have to find the reasons for their gifts and figure out the mystery behind a note written in crayon.
The story is not too shabby. I liked the characters, but there was so much confusion for the two main ones; I didn't know if I was coming or going with them. From Jackson's sleep-walking and insane dreams to Ann and where she came from and when she came. The tension never stopped with the story and it kept going and going, placing the characters in tighter and tighter situations. Some of which were a bit unreal- but that's fantasy for you.
I didn't like how I didn't get to know about the origin of the magical powers. I can't go into much detail because that would be offering up SPOILERS, but it would have been nice to know if they stemmed from radiation poisoning or not. I also didn't get to know who Inoki was. He's supposed to be running the show, according to the subtitle, but I was just left in a state of limbo.
I did enjoy the book and I think anyone who's in to characters that put you in mind of Harry Canyon (Heavy Metal) then this book is for you! This book is available in all versions, including Audible.com. I'm on to the next read!
You know you've done well when you jump in on two giveaways and win both, on the same book! When I received one newsletter announcing a new dystopian ebook- I said "Yes!". Then I was offered, by another newsletter the audiobook, Again, I said, "Yes" and I instantly began to salivate like one of Pavlov's dogs! I entered on one day and was downloading the next. That's like music to this book reviewer- erm... well maybe not music. You know what I mean!Raven's Song is a dystopian fantasy, written by I. A. Ashcroft and is book one in an apparent series. I don't know much about Ashcroft but from what I've seen so far, he may not be too bad. The guy can write a story, but I was a bit torn on whether I enjoyed the read or not. I'll go into all that- first: the book cover.
The cover is cool- even a bit mysterious & magical, which fits the theme of this story. There's some serious strangeness too but it's Chicago. What can you expect? LOL (no offense). Though it's not one of those that automatically captures the eye, it is a nice cover. I can't say anything negative about. It's simple, yet perfection for the storyline.
The story is written from two POV's in third person. There's the main character, Jackson, who's backstory and development is written exceptionally well. He's got issues- like someone's poisoning him, he sees ravens everywhere and he's got people after him and he didn't do anything wrong! Then there's Anne. She was found stark naked and hasn't a clue where she is or when... Oh, and she has magical powers! In the first few chapters on her, she's tranq'd, kidnapped and imprisoned without a clue as to why! Due to they way they meet, they feel they need to stick together. They have so much in common: they have abilities that are unexplained and they are hunted. Set in a futuristic, dystopian society where the world's been nuked and inhabitants are suffering radiation poisoning and mutations, it's hard to survive. New York residents dwell beneath a dome but it's not much protection. Those like Jackson and Anne are regulated by a group called The Order, but there's not much help there. With people after them, they have to find the reasons for their gifts and figure out the mystery behind a note written in crayon.
The story is not too shabby. I liked the characters, but there was so much confusion for the two main ones; I didn't know if I was coming or going with them. From Jackson's sleep-walking and insane dreams to Ann and where she came from and when she came. The tension never stopped with the story and it kept going and going, placing the characters in tighter and tighter situations. Some of which were a bit unreal- but that's fantasy for you.
I didn't like how I didn't get to know about the origin of the magical powers. I can't go into much detail because that would be offering up SPOILERS, but it would have been nice to know if they stemmed from radiation poisoning or not. I also didn't get to know who Inoki was. He's supposed to be running the show, according to the subtitle, but I was just left in a state of limbo.
I did enjoy the book and I think anyone who's in to characters that put you in mind of Harry Canyon (Heavy Metal) then this book is for you! This book is available in all versions, including Audible.com. I'm on to the next read!
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