Forged in Death

The Death Wizard Chronicles #1

by Jim Melvin

Author's note: This edition is out of print but new editions are being released in 2025.

The Death Wizard Chronicles is a sexy, action-packed six-book epic fantasy Book One (Forged in Death), Book Two (Chained by Fear), Book Three (Eve of War), Book Four (World on Fire), Book Five (Sun God), Book Six (Death-Know).

The DW Chronicles is not for children and teenagers -- or the faint of heart. But if you like graphic fantasy that is bursting with excitement yet still has a lot going on between the lines, I think you'll love my series.

In a groundbreaking paradox, the Death Wizard, a champion of good, derives his power from a source traditionally seen as negative -- death. His nemesis, an evil sorcerer, derives his power from the sun, the benevolent source of all life. Their struggle to control the fate of the planet Triken will take your breath away.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Magic

260 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 2007

About the author

Jim grew up on the shores of western Florida, and he spent much of his childhood swimming in shark-infested waters long before the movie "Jaws" put a scare into everyone. At the time, he probably was too skinny to attract a bull shark's attention. About ten other boys Jim's age lived on his same street, and they hung out morning, noon and night playing the usual sports that young boys love — football, baseball, "kill the carrier," etc. — but as a group they also played fantastical games that contained magic, monsters and superheroes. It was in this setting that Jim's imagination was born and nurtured.

Jim's latest work is an updated edition of "The Death Wizard Chronicles," an action-packed dark fantasy for mature audiences. Volume 1 debuted April 2025. Volume 2 is set for July 2025 and Volume 3 in October 2025.

Literary Titan's 5-star review of Volume 1 included the following: "For the seasoned fantasy fan craving something fierce and different, this hits like thunder."

Jim also recently published a teen fantasy adventure trilogy titled "Dark Circles," which is about a group of kids who are transported to a magical land where it can be deadly to sleep. This is a great coming-of-age series for fans of J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, and Brandon Sanderson.

Kirkus Reviews described book 1 as "a delightful beginning to a promising series that’s sure to appeal to teen readers who feel like outsiders."

"Dark Circles" is the winner of fourteen awards, including double finalist in the 21st annual Best Book Awards.

Jim is also the author of two books of nonfiction.

"The Adventures of a Florida Boy" chronicles
Jim's boyhood spent in Florida in the 1960s on an island called Coquina Key. His parents’ waterfront home overlooked a large expanse of Tampa Bay. Back then, parts of the island were undeveloped, which left plenty of room for outdoor adventures.

One reviewer said this: “A joyous glimpse into a childhood we all wish we’d had: fun, carefree, and near the sea.”

Jim was also the lead writer and editor for the nonfiction book "Eclipse Over Clemson: The day Tigertown will never forget," which chronicled the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse that passed over Clemson University. The on-campus event which Jim coordinated was a once-in-a-lifetime experience attended by more than 50,000 people.

Jim lives in a valley surrounded by mountains in the Southern Appalachians. He was previously an award-winning journalist at several national newspapers and a communications director at a major university.

Reviews

[Dianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy fiction for adults who want to escape to new worlds filled with dragons, magic and chaos, Forged in Death by Jim Melvin opens with a solid punch to the gut. Imagine finding yourself held prisoner in a dark, be-spelled pit with no way out, no way to even stretch out without causing yourself horrible pain. That is where we meet our hero, Torg, a user of death magic, a man who “has died a thousand times” and earned the right to be called king.

This is Torg’s journey, his fight against Invictus, who uses the power of the sun to defeat his foes. Follow Torg as gruesome battles are waged, sexual heat is presented as an in-your-face event and the fortitude of a man is tested on a regular basis. The cornerstone for this series, Forged in Death has a world that is created, fleshed out and thoroughly entrancing as even a wisp of air feels as if it has touched the reader.

High fantasy is as personal as what toppings one wants on their pizza, how thick the crust is and how much sauce is too much, but Jim Melvin has done a marvelous job of getting everything just right, adding his own personal touches and not being afraid to use bold and confident strokes in his writing. Mr. Melvin has set the stage for future installments and left the door wide open for readers to wonder what will happen next!

Solid reading, great characters and a world unlike any we have known. Prepare to lose yourself on the planet Trikon, next stop, book two!

Series: The Death Wizard Chronicles - Book 1
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
Publication Date: August 20, 2012
Genre: Fantasy
Print Length: 262 pages
Available from: Amazon |  Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Forged in Death" is the first installment in Jim Melvin's six volume "Death Wizard Chronicles."

Torg is a "Death Knower," a thousand year old, super-powerful leader of his warrior tribe, the Tugars. There's a bad wizard named Invictus, and his henchman, named Mara. So, Invictus has Mara throw Torg into a malevolent prison pit. Then Sobhana, this hot, fierce, Tugar warrior girl--who is as smitten with Torg as he is with her--tries to rescue him from the pit. She climbs down a rope to him, then has to climb back up the rope, and gets pounded by a giant spider. Or rock-eating people. I can't remember. But finally, Torg, who's been horribly weakened, finally climbs out of the pit, after dying briefly and recharging his energy. (Sorta like Ultraman getting a solar boost, I guess). He finds Sobhana when she's about to die. There's a thing Tugars do, where a living warrior basically kisses a dying warrior, and absorbs their life essence and part of their spirit. So Torg finally gets to make out with Sobhana. This pleases Sobhana, who realizes, once part of her spirit is inside Torg, that he has always reciprocated her love, but couldn't be with her, because he had sex with a woman once, and his orgasm caused her to explode into smithereens, and set the area around them on fire . However, an ancient and evil she-demon has Torg captured, and insists on mounting him. Torg tries to refuse, but the ghost of a little blind girl tells him not to resist having this demoness screw his brains out, because the resulting child will be crucial to bringing down Invictus. So she mounts him; they both orgasm spectacularly, killing a bunch of cave trolls or something, then she leaves. Torg gets sucked into a giant pit of magma, but doesn't get too badly burned, and ends up being stalked through pitch-black caves by a giant worm monster, then rescued by friendly monkey people, who nurse Torg back to health. (In case you're wondering, Torg did catch some sort of maleficent spiritual STD from the demon, but a magical woman later cures him of this soul herpes by fellating him beneath magical trees.)

If you only read my previous paragraph, you might think "Forged in Death" is just a messy jumble of a book, and that I didn't enjoy it. Neither of these is wholly true.

It took me maybe a third of the book before I felt bonded with it, and around the two-thirds mark I was riveted.

Then it just ended. Torg was having one of his occasional flashback dreams, and that was it. Pouf. Welcome to the Glossary.

I said something literary and intelligent, like "Are you fucking KIDDING me?"

I understand that this is a six part chronicle. However, research has proved the possibility of ending each novel in a series with a decent resolution. The Harry Potter series, for example, was a septology, but each book simultaneously had its own resolution, while also forwarding the series toward its preordained conclusion. Thus, you have seven books, each of which works as an independent novel.

The ending to this book might be great, if you're used to reading books with the last half chapter torn out. Maybe this is the author's device for getting us on to the next book, and I suppose I can understand that. I suppose that perhaps the author can understand, too, that I will never open any of the remaining five volumes in the series.

"Forged in Death" was a hard book to fall in love with. There is this huge mythology we have to pick up on the fly, and the characters seem as dry as their desert home, and as cold as the mountains they encounter. Many of the "noble" characters seem priggish, and the dread-wizard, Invictus, is really the only character who seems to enjoy life. Despite all the obstacles the book threw at me, I DID get into it. I followed all the characters' odd behaviors, shadowed them through dangerous situations, accepted that they were nearly all damn-near unlikable, and slogged through this overubiquitous "Ancient tongue" (An English derivative of Pali, a Middle Indo-Aryan language related to Sanskrit, but now extinct as a spoken language. (I didn't figure this out on my own: the author explains this after the abrupt ending (I didn't care where the Ancient tongue originated; I just wanted it to go away, for it was completely unnecessary (Seriously, why blast out a 20 word sentence in the Ancient Tongue, only to follow it with the English translation? It's just a waste of words, unless the author's secret mission is to resurrect Pali)))).

Despite the various structural challenges forged into "Forged in Death," I found myself invested in the story, and then--

Book-lover blue balls.

I mildly regret that I'll never know how Torg and the gang ultimately fare, and I do wish them well. However, they will meet their fates without my company. Pity. They deserve better.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forged in Death, the first of six books in Jim Melvin's Death Wizard Chronicles, starts out with a scene from a claustrophobic's nightmare - Torg, the Death-Knower and king of the Tugars, is imprisoned by the evil wizard Invictus at the bottom of a cold, dark pit bored hundreds of feet into a mountain. He can't stretch out because the pit is too small, and he can't lean against the walls, because they're enchanted with flesh-burning magic. He either has to stand or curl into an uncomfortably tight fetal position.

We're only in the prologue, and the book is already giving me the willies. And that's a good thing.

Torg eventually escapes the pit and embarks on an Odyssey-like journey back to his desert home to stop Invictus from enslaving the world of Triken.

Jim Melvin's world-building was at once fantastic and logical, from the unique human cultures to the strange twists on traditional monsters. It's obvious Melvin put a lot of thought into the ecosystems that support his world. For example, Torg discovers a race of monkeys that live deep underground. How do they sustain themselves? By carving meat off a gigantic tentacled monster that inhabits the caverns, like microscopic mites on human skin. How does the monster survive? By eating the monkeys. It's an elegant symbiosis, and Melvin portrays other unique creatures similarly throughout the book.

Forged in Death has a non-traditional magic system - Torg enters a state of temporary death, feeds off the power of the afterlife, and then returns to his body magically recharged (which is why he's called a "Death-Knower"). The evil wizard Invictus, however, gets his power from the sun. This is a switch from most fantasies, which usually have the good guys feeding off the sun and the villains using death for their evil schemes.

The book also felt like a primer for real-world Theravada Buddhism (something the author acknowledges). The characters, Torg in particular, describe the principles behind meditation, karma, the eternal quest for enlightenment, and reincarnation. As one who's ignorant of Buddhist scriptures, I now want to read up on the subject to learn more.

I do have some quibbles with an otherwise outstanding novel.

The hero Torg was a likable character and an all-powerful wizard. But at times he seemed too good and too all-powerful. He won every battle unless he chose to lose, like when he allowed his enemies to throw him into the pit. I wanted Torg to fail or make more mistakes, and then watch him overcome those failures to become a different man by the end of the book.

Also, Forged in Death was a cliff-hanger book. I'm not a fan of the style, but it's a personal nit-pick of mine and not anything Melvin did wrong. Readers who enjoy cliff-hanger endings, however, will see no problem with it.

Forged in Death was beautifully written and a worthy addition to the epic fantasy genre. I hope to see Torg challenged a bit more in future books. I also look forward to learning more about Invictus, whose brief appearances painted him as an "interesting" villain. And the final battle between Torg and Invictus -- Triken's two most powerful wizards -- promises to be truly world-shaking.

Cross-posted at The New Podler Review of Books.

[C.E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forged in Death by Jim Melvin (the first of six in the series) proved to be a wonderful read that fully captured my attention. I am admittedly picky about high fantasy and have little patience for the familiar retreads of the genre, but Melvin has written a book that captures the genre's essence and breathes new elements into it.

The "magic" system is unlike any I've read before. In an intriguing twist, the antagonist uses the power of the sun while the hero, Torg, wields the power of death. Torg is a complex, fully-developed character. His journey is the focus of this first installment of "The Death Wizard Chronicles" much like that of Odysseus in The Odyssey. A cast of engaging characters surround Torg, and aspects of eastern spiritualism pervade the book.

As to be expected in a work about a world heading into chaos, there is violence. Some of the descriptions are gruesome, and kudos to Melvin for writing descriptively enough to make me cringe. The sexual content is matter-of-fact, brief, and not gratuitous. The book does read like an opening chapter of a larger story which is the ONLY reason why I rated it a 4 instead of 5 stars; I like rating a series as a whole and not piecemeal, book by book. Once I've read the series in its entirety, I may reassess the rating.

Forged in Death is an entertaining read that will hold you from beginning to end. I highly recommend it and look forward to the second installment Chained by Fear.

[Vincent Morrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read with plenty of twists and turns. Melvin builds an extraordinary world with monsters around each and every corner. You'll be rooting for the hero and at times upset over the turn of some events. Adult fans of Harry Potter should check it out. Not for younger readers.

In much fiction of this nature, it seems to be a paint by the numbers, but here the author really manages to pull more than a few surprises out of his hat.

I'd highly recommend this for anyone who loves books with magic and monsters.

Do you doubt me?

[Pearl Kirkby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surely everyone loves a superhero?

In Torg, an Asekha warrior who has lived for a thousand years, and who has achieved Sammaasamaadhi (to the uninitiated, a type of near-death experience wherein your physical body...ceases) more times than his number of years, we have such a person.

In his long, long lifetime he has gained knowledge, wisdom and not a small amount of "magic" (although I find it difficult to call it that, considering that it is more akin to accessing pure life energy); to this reader, he reminds me more of an enlightened(?) or ascended(?) being than a wizard! Be that as it may, a hero...SUPERhero...he is.

I have read reviews about "Forged in Death(Death Wizard Chronicles)" which have criticized the "perfection" of our protagonist, Torg. Some have said that he doesn't fulfill the requirements of a hero, which is that he must have some weakness; they say he is too perfect.

I say, "Read the book more slowly; take in the whole story, not just the words." Torg does have weaknesses, only not the kind that "normal" people have. His "weakness" lies in sometimes succumbing to the distractions of love and loss, when his full concentration is required for the task at hand.

Some actually take umbrage at the old-fashioned manner of speech (or do they refer to the Cave Monkey's speech??) that is used. In my fairly broad experience, speech between different cultures and different groups within a culture is varied. And if the issue is how the Cave Monkeys speak, I agree that it is somewhat incorrect...IF they used olde English. Wow. A whole dozen sentences out of an entire novel...spoken by creatures that were born of imagination.

But it is the legendary aspect of this book that makes it a great read; just as the tales of Ulysses, Hercules and even Merlin takes us into the mythical wonders of days gone by, so does "Forged in Death" give us new tales for our inner child to emulate, with our swords of fallen oak branches, staffs of metal tubing from a construction site and our capes and robes made of bedsheets!

The quest of Torg and the battles in which he engages with the likes of succubus-like witches, demons, ghouls, dragons and magically transformed birds of prey, with a heartbreaking love story for good measure, are indeed the stuff of legend.

This book is well written, beautifully choreographed and should be worth following as the Death Wizard Chronicles series continues.

(Due to scenes involving incest, child rape and other incidents of sexual scenes involving a child, I will not be reading Book 2 if this series.)

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Forged in Death, Torg or The Torgon is a powerful Death Knower. He can enter death to restore himself and, as a result, he has lived for over a thousand years. Invictus, an evil young sorcerer has invaded Tiken and is corrupting the land and all its inhabitants and Torg is the only one powerful to stop him.

Forged in Death is the first of six books in Jim Melvin's The Death Wizard Chronicles and it makes for an interesting start to the series. It is a fairly short book, unusual for epic fantasy, and, despite the occasional sex, it is definitely high fantasy, Manichean rather than realistic. There is a great deal of magic, a quest, the hero (and make no mistake, he is a Hero with a capitol H) is almost invincible, and the characters tend to be one-dimensional where the good characters are very, very good and the bad are positively evil. There are few moral ambiguities here. Think Tolkien rather than Erikson.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a criticism - although I prefer the gritty realism of writers like Cook and Abercrombie, there is still a place in my heart and on my bookshelves for the moral righteousness of high fantasy and I look forward to seeing where Torg's quest takes him in future installments.

[April Plummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of fantasy. Most fantasy, anyway. And I can't put my finger on what it is that makes the difference between love and hate. But Jim's book definitely made me love fantasy, if only throughout the pages of his book.

The concept is unlike anything I've ever heard and certainly unlike anything I've ever created in my own mind - a wizard who gets his power from death. He's Torg, a Death-Knower who died and came back to life with more power than ever, power gleaned from his own death. This means that his enemies who want nothing more than to see this constant threat gone...can't kill him. If they did, he'd only come back with even more power and a need for revenge.

To make this even better, Torg's evil nemeseis get his power from the sun. How can he beat THAT?

I don't know, but I look forward to book #2 and the entire rest of this epic fantasy.

This was a fast-paced read with complex characters living in an intriguing, magical world, a world of beauty and promise...and fear.

If you like adult fantasy, you need to read this book. Even if you're like me and only sometimes like fantasy...I promise you this one will have you turning pages.

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just completed Jim Melvin's Forged In Death. It's the first book in that genre I have read since reading The Hobbit and the LOTR trilogy, and if you enjoy wizards and sorcerers read this book. It's darker (and sexier) than LOTR, and Melvin does a wonderful job of placing the reader deep into the world of Triken. Can't wait to read book two!

[Adam Wheeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining epic fantasy. Could've done with some editing. The biggest drag for me was the protagonist's impermeability. He has the feel of a deity or sorcerous Superman. Whatever peril was in the works, my thoughts were generally, "Eh, he'll be fine". I mean, the story starts with the protagonist already in a predicament and then spends at least a quarter of the book telling the events leading up to said predicament. Also, be forewarned that there is a great deal more conversation, inner monologue, and flashbacks than there is action.
If you, like me, enjoy the genre of "unlikely group of underdogs bands together to fight a great evil" then this book should satiate your literary craving. Just don't expect a deeply engaging experience out of it.

[Robin Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Melvin has constructed his world meticulously, with more than half an eye on the possibility that its epic struggle between Good and Evil might eventually be made into a series of films to rival The Lord of the Rings. We know the size (in cubits) and complexion of its dragons and its demons, its witches, druids and assorted devilish creatures, and our ears quickly become attuned to a language reminiscent of Sanskrit – the language of The Mahabharata.

This is an intricately woven, impressively detailed dystopian world with its own version of the Dark Lord Sauron and his minions, against which is ranged the power of the Asēkhas – the greatest warriors that world has ever known. Their leader, Torg, King of the Tugars and a Death Knower, is convinced that force alone can never vanquish the quintessential wickedness of Invictus - a demon-wizard drawing power from the implacable Sun - and that goodness, mercy and compassion must be enlisted if virtue, morality and basic decency is to have a chance to prevail. “Hatred is never appeased by hatred. Hatred is appeased by love.”

It’s an interesting idea that lends a welcome depth to the kind of story that could easily succumb to the temptation to stage one mega skirmish after another, with little more character development than is usually allotted to the average orc. Torg is a formidable warrior with immense power and almost infinitely renewable strength, but he is also very wise, and a great healer, with a mind and spirit capable of journeying through realms beyond the reach of humans.

Jim Melvin has a sharp eye for descriptive detail as well, and a lyrical ear for rhythm and balance. You notice the mellifluous phrasing early on: “Thousands of golden flashes burst from the three-cornered conurbation, resembling a wind-ruffled lake sparkling beneath a setting sun.” There are plenty of well-tempered sentences to soothe the reader’s soul along the strife-torn way. Here’s another one: “The Warlish witch, her face full of filth and fire, loomed over Tathagata.” It reminded me of Marlowe’s Tamburlaine… “Torg wept too” added the sense of the kind heart of the saviour in the King James version of the Bible (John 11.35).

The author also understands his readers’ need for light-hearted – even comic – relief, which he introduces in a fresh set of characters after Torg has suffered the tortures of the damned for the sins of the situation throughout the first half of the book. Keep reading, and find hope and love and powerful forces on the side of good. “Nourishing life ranks among the highest states of wisdom, destroying life among the lowest… There’s no justification for violence.”

In this half of the book an alliance is formed that will change the world. It’s a long story, and in these first episodes Jim Melvin ably prepares you for the journey. At the end of the book there are useful notes about the language, the places and the creatures we have met so far.

[Yasmin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to like this book. I really wanted to like this book. I even have the next three in the series because they were on sale.

So now I'm incredibly peeved because I did not like this book!!!

Isn't the first rule of writing that your protagonist must be flawed? Well Torg, the Death Knower, has no flaws. His skin is impenetrable. He's taller, more agile and knowledgeable than his people. And he's uber strong. Sure, apparently he can't call on his super power but once a year, but that certainly doesn't make him weak. If he had to have a flaw, it's that his orgasm kills. Really, it does. But that sure as hell didn't stop him from doing the deed twice in this book!

Torg is a Mary Sue.

Invictus, one of many bad guys, makes an appearance in this novel, but it's more like a blip. And you're told more than anything else that he's a big bad. I wasn't impressed. And I certainly don't agree that one should wait till the next novel to see how really bad he is or whether Torg is flawed. First novels should hook you in. This one really doesn't.

Sadly, I may read the second one just to see if it gets better.

[Ninja · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this story. I tried to like it, but nope. It didn't immediately pull me in, but I was intrigued enough to continue reading, and the more I did, the more I began hating it. It was painful to read, honestly. I was hoping that it'd get better, but it never does. Nothing interesting happens and Torg just fell flat. Toward the end of the book, it seemed like he was just babysitting a bunch of cry babies. I mean, seriously, they all seemed to cry all of the time. A bunch of pansies. And we get it, Rathburt. You're extremely jealous of Torg, but why do you have to keep calling him a "show off?" And Ugga constantly calling Elu "little guy?" Freakin' irritating. I'm upset I even gave this book a chance. Never again.

[Dutch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full Disclosure: I dig free books. I REALLY dig free books that I enjoy. I didn't enjoy this book too much. It started out well. I initially liked the characters and the start of the plot. I lost interest about 40% in but kept trudging through hoping it would get better. 249 pages? I can't finish this! Upon finishing it, I was disappointed. I felt this book was a compilation of a few short stories loosely related and not one cohesive story. I even went so far as to read an excerpt from the next installment and realized this series isn't for me. I'm done. I can't find a reason to continue.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot! When Walt retires from the City Retiree Action patrol or CRAP, he decides to become a private investigator. Walt wanted to call his business PISS for Private Investigation service by seniors, he is 70, but settled on Walt Williams Investigations. This is one readers are taken on an adventure, investigating bad guys and a few secrets from the past. Great novel that is a compelling read with an amazing writing style that is easy and fun to read.

[Heather Mclaughlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like the books in this series and even read one-and-a-half of them until I just could not do it any more! Most of the main characters in this book are described as physically stunning and the author repeatedly, and at great length, reminds the reader of that fact. There is so much focus on that that the personalities and inner dialogs are one dimensional.

[Chris Schroeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the book had alot of potential, but a combination of getting caught up in all of the "old tongue" and some other odd scenes, it really felt like the story kept tripping over itself. It never really found a good pace.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Feels like an older book — big issue with telling instead of showing. I won't seek out the rest of this series.

[Ryan Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, fun read. It doesn't do anything groundbreaking, but I enjoyed it. The magic system was quite interesting, with the powers coming from death.

[Gregory · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave this book a fair shot, but came to realize there were no interesting characters, not much of a plot, and no reason I could think of to continue reading.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Who ends a book like this?

This is a meandering journey through a sketched out world. I suppose it has potential, but Mr. Melvin may have trouble getting his protagonist to grow.

[Riley Amos Westbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story, beautiful use of language, and a fantastic fantasy world. A great start to what I’m sure is a fantastic story arc. 5/5

[Jennifer Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading four of the Death Wizard Chronicles, I can honestly say they make a ripping good yarn. With minimal references to sex and no bad language they climb up my collection of favourites/I skip through naughty bits as being mostly irrelevant and only serving those who need them in their reads to complete their idea of the story and that's fine, but I prefer them not to be there and get on with the action instead.
Jim Melvin writes with the action, painting a picture in your head the scenes and speed of the tale as it unfolds. Characters, even if only briefly in the text come to life with his vivid rendition of their worries and drives making each a colourful addition to the story.
With different perspectives of the same point in time he reads like a film and makes the scenes complete.
Definitely one to stay on my shelves to be re-read.