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The Red Eye
On his late-night radio show The Red Eye, Sam Brody pulls back the curtain on paranormal hoaxes, exposing the charlatans posing as psychics, vampires, and alien messengers.
Sure, he started out hoping that someone would prove that there was something "more," but after all the con artists and fakes, that hope's gone.
Sam Brody definitely doesn't believe in the supernatural.
But with one phone call, he discovers that the supernatural definitely believes in him.
Sure, he started out hoping that someone would prove that there was something "more," but after all the con artists and fakes, that hope's gone.
Sam Brody definitely doesn't believe in the supernatural.
But with one phone call, he discovers that the supernatural definitely believes in him.
252 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2014
371 people want to read
About the author
K.W. Taylor
23 books31 followersK.W. Taylor writes science fiction, fantasy, and horror. She’s the author of the urban fantasy Sam Brody series, about a dragonslaying disc jockey (The Red Eye and The House on Concordia Drive, both 2014 from Alliteration Ink) and The Curiosity Killers, her forthcoming dystopian steampunk time travel novel. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and an MA in literature from Wright State University. Taylor lives in a restored Victorian home with her tech writer husband and—unlike every other novelist in the world—an insanely photogenic kitten. She blogs at kwtaylorwriter.com.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 9, 2014
Disclaimer: K. W. Taylor is a current student at Seton Hill University's WPF program, which I also attended. I consider her a friend. However, I purchased this novel at full price.
Too much of "urban fantasy" these days is thinly veiled paranormal romance. THE RED EYE, on the other hand, is gritty and dark, and much more on the noir side of the spectrum. In another life, I suspect that Sam Brody was a hard-boiled detective rather than a talk-show radio host. The cast of characters is rounded out with the traditional Villain, Girl Friday, and Femme Fatale, all of whom are intriguing and expand far beyond their stereotypical roles.
The best compliment one can give a book is to immediately run out and read the next one (or prequel, in the case of "The House on Concordia Drive," which is sitting next to me and about to be opened). However, THE RED EYE does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I would also happily read the next chapter in Sam Brody's life!
Recommended to anyone who enjoys Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series.
Too much of "urban fantasy" these days is thinly veiled paranormal romance. THE RED EYE, on the other hand, is gritty and dark, and much more on the noir side of the spectrum. In another life, I suspect that Sam Brody was a hard-boiled detective rather than a talk-show radio host. The cast of characters is rounded out with the traditional Villain, Girl Friday, and Femme Fatale, all of whom are intriguing and expand far beyond their stereotypical roles.
The best compliment one can give a book is to immediately run out and read the next one (or prequel, in the case of "The House on Concordia Drive," which is sitting next to me and about to be opened). However, THE RED EYE does end on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I would also happily read the next chapter in Sam Brody's life!
Recommended to anyone who enjoys Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series.
April 28, 2014
As I dealt with flight delays last night, I was very glad to have Taylor's book with me to help keep me sane!
I read the first version of this novel, way back in whatever year, during NaNoWriMo. I can't even begin to say how happy I am to see it finally in published format, as I said to Taylor for ages "The Red Eye should be published; it's so good." And it is. So good. SO good. There were a couple of little moments where, for whatever reason, I was briefly taken out of the story (not sure what those were now; heck, it could have merely been moments of "OMG WHY AM I STILL SITTING ON THIS PLANE" and nothing to do with the book itself), but those didn't really impact my enjoyment of this EXCELLENT story. Taylor's characters and plot keep you fully enthralled. And, naturally, this ends on a cliffhanger- so Alliteration Ink, if she puts out a sequel/trilogy on this... PLEASE KEEP PUBLISHING IT!!!!!
I read the first version of this novel, way back in whatever year, during NaNoWriMo. I can't even begin to say how happy I am to see it finally in published format, as I said to Taylor for ages "The Red Eye should be published; it's so good." And it is. So good. SO good. There were a couple of little moments where, for whatever reason, I was briefly taken out of the story (not sure what those were now; heck, it could have merely been moments of "OMG WHY AM I STILL SITTING ON THIS PLANE" and nothing to do with the book itself), but those didn't really impact my enjoyment of this EXCELLENT story. Taylor's characters and plot keep you fully enthralled. And, naturally, this ends on a cliffhanger- so Alliteration Ink, if she puts out a sequel/trilogy on this... PLEASE KEEP PUBLISHING IT!!!!!
October 23, 2014
The Red Eye is a fun read with a compelling--if not always likable--protagonist. Taylor's greatest strength is her dialogue. It's a joy to listen to her characters' talk. She also has some original metaphors and keeps a cool, gritty tone throughout the book. The story is a nifty hybrid of noir and fantasy: a rough anti-hero has to slay a mythical dragon and save the beloved maiden. So, a lot of the structure is familiar territory, but Taylor dresses it up and mixes it up in some interesting ways. I'll definitely look for more from this author.
August 9, 2014
I was tossed around by the abrupt changes in both character and thematic thrust from the preceding House on Concordia Drive (an introduction to the character and, ostensibly, his world) to this work. One of the things that impressed me about that story was that it didn’t go for the obvious and overused approach of having the skeptic changed to a believer by the wild and wacky ways of the spiritual realm. This story, however, falls into that same trap. Similarly, I like how honestly Concordia portrayed a selfish, egotistical bastard in the midst of a collapsing personal life without demonizing or glorifying him. Again, here we have him quickly shift to a slightly gruff teddy bear once he has a girlfriend to be all cuddly with. The shift was too jarring for me and that affected my experience.
At its heart, The Red Eye seems to be an attempt to tell a very traditional fairy tale in a modern context. You’ve got the white knight, the wizened wizard, the maiden fair and the big, bad dragon. I get the attempt, but it causes several problems. The big bad is a cardboard cutout of evil, with no sense of motivation or personality beyond that. The feminine interest has no place in the story outside of being something for the hero to save. There never seems to be any doubt that the hero will triumph. The window dressing is updated, but the problems with this type of tale are not addressed and it hurts the story.
These issues were all the more frustrating when placed next to the obvious talent on tap here. The dialogue had personality. There were touches of how the relationships worked that were gorgeous. Taylor’s prose flowed as clean as a mountain stream. It says a lot that, despite the issues I had, I flew through reading this. And Concordia was nearly brilliant. The Red Eye just seems bland in comparison.
At its heart, The Red Eye seems to be an attempt to tell a very traditional fairy tale in a modern context. You’ve got the white knight, the wizened wizard, the maiden fair and the big, bad dragon. I get the attempt, but it causes several problems. The big bad is a cardboard cutout of evil, with no sense of motivation or personality beyond that. The feminine interest has no place in the story outside of being something for the hero to save. There never seems to be any doubt that the hero will triumph. The window dressing is updated, but the problems with this type of tale are not addressed and it hurts the story.
These issues were all the more frustrating when placed next to the obvious talent on tap here. The dialogue had personality. There were touches of how the relationships worked that were gorgeous. Taylor’s prose flowed as clean as a mountain stream. It says a lot that, despite the issues I had, I flew through reading this. And Concordia was nearly brilliant. The Red Eye just seems bland in comparison.
June 2, 2014
I was lucky enough to win a copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads giveaways.
This was a fun novel to read. The story was clear and interesting. I really did enjoy the main character of Sam Brody.
Sam came off as a very down to earth, believable character. Perhaps it was because of his sarcasn and often ill timed wise cracks, that he just seemed more personable and human. He didn't know all the answers but he sure as hell was going to try to get as many right as he possibly could.
The story flowed nicely with some amusing scenes. I did find some typographical errors but was able to read past them.
At only 254 pages I would have loved the book to be longer. I feel there was so much more that could have been added to the story to extend its reading life.
And I just loved the cliffhanger at the end!!!!!
This was a fun novel to read. The story was clear and interesting. I really did enjoy the main character of Sam Brody.
Sam came off as a very down to earth, believable character. Perhaps it was because of his sarcasn and often ill timed wise cracks, that he just seemed more personable and human. He didn't know all the answers but he sure as hell was going to try to get as many right as he possibly could.
The story flowed nicely with some amusing scenes. I did find some typographical errors but was able to read past them.
At only 254 pages I would have loved the book to be longer. I feel there was so much more that could have been added to the story to extend its reading life.
And I just loved the cliffhanger at the end!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews