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Flock
Deep within the abandoned darkness of London sits the hub of a clandestine community – the ‘Office’. For decades, secluded in an underground base of secret history, unworldly knowledge and incogitable crises:
“We’re out of chocolate digestives!”
When two bickering colleagues make a disturbing discovery, their find triggers further adversity. A city-wide upset, a localised riot and the fallout of a powerful, enchanted stone. Not quite their daily grind.
The pair, Amy and Fletch, take on the deadly, paranormal mystery; a series of eerie murders and the sinister truth of a young amnesiac. Teamed with determined workmate Tashta and fiery boss Una, they investigate the magickal London privy to them. The four navigate through absurd conspiracy theories, stolen contraband and the distinct lack of an HR department.
The Office team’s quest embroils them with a charismatic exorcist, a fanboy psychic and an unruly laser-printer. But the danger that awaits is far beyond their job description. Hidden agendas may prove as lethal as the shadowy foe they seek.
“We’re out of chocolate digestives!”
When two bickering colleagues make a disturbing discovery, their find triggers further adversity. A city-wide upset, a localised riot and the fallout of a powerful, enchanted stone. Not quite their daily grind.
The pair, Amy and Fletch, take on the deadly, paranormal mystery; a series of eerie murders and the sinister truth of a young amnesiac. Teamed with determined workmate Tashta and fiery boss Una, they investigate the magickal London privy to them. The four navigate through absurd conspiracy theories, stolen contraband and the distinct lack of an HR department.
The Office team’s quest embroils them with a charismatic exorcist, a fanboy psychic and an unruly laser-printer. But the danger that awaits is far beyond their job description. Hidden agendas may prove as lethal as the shadowy foe they seek.
269 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 20, 2018
1 person is currently reading
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 27, 2018
Flock isn’t about birds at all. It is about a not-so-secret magical agency housed in London, created to guard the world against threats that might end it. I say not-so-secret because everyone who’s in the know about magic knows about the Office.
I picked this up because I saw glimmers of the tongue-in-cheek humor I enjoy in stories and shows sourced from the UK. I enjoyed those glimmers coming to light in the story, though sometimes I had to double take to realize one did. The ornery printer-copier, the out-of-place video game addiction, the Jedi, and the unremarkable men, all amused me.
I also enjoyed the cast of characters. They were surprising in many ways, humorous and diverse, and highly expressive. On the other hand, I found the use of ‘their’ for the non-human characters to be confusing. It is explained, but I had to remind myself of the explanation as I read. Also, there are a ton of characters in this, a ton, and it felt like I was expected to already have a certain familiarity with them. I can’t tell if this is a sequel, but it sure seems like it is, what with all the established characters seeming to continue on their predetermined character paths. It also seems to have set up for another book, so even if this isn’t a sequel, I’m pretty sure it will have one, if it doesn’t already.
On a similar note, the story works to advance several characters at once, and it handles this by cycling among them rather rapidly, even in ongoing scenes. Paired with the multiple well-established characters whom I had trouble remembering, this made it rather difficult for me to keep up with what was happening to whom. I did eventually get used to the style and pick up on the details that eluded me at the beginning of the reading. By the end, I knew enough to really get into the craziness these folks were getting up to.
Finally, this story was smart in many ways. The humor, the puns, and the witticisms left me chuckling, when I realized they were there. Sometimes I had to pull out the dictionary, many times actually, and I actually highlighted a couple of new words I liked. The plot itself is complex and interrelated, all drawing to a close like a well-formulated mystery novel.
Overall, I enjoyed this story, but it challenged me. I must say folks who enjoy a good urban paranormal with British humor mixed in will likely enjoy this, but I recommend reading this alongside a good cup of tea or caffeine invigorator of choice so as to keep up with the thing. Reading it on the Kindle was very helpful with the handy built in dictionary, which revealed to me the meanings of all but one of the unfamiliar words I encountered in the reading.
I received the review copy of this book from the author via Pure Textuality PR. This review was written for the blog at puretextualitypr.com.
I picked this up because I saw glimmers of the tongue-in-cheek humor I enjoy in stories and shows sourced from the UK. I enjoyed those glimmers coming to light in the story, though sometimes I had to double take to realize one did. The ornery printer-copier, the out-of-place video game addiction, the Jedi, and the unremarkable men, all amused me.
I also enjoyed the cast of characters. They were surprising in many ways, humorous and diverse, and highly expressive. On the other hand, I found the use of ‘their’ for the non-human characters to be confusing. It is explained, but I had to remind myself of the explanation as I read. Also, there are a ton of characters in this, a ton, and it felt like I was expected to already have a certain familiarity with them. I can’t tell if this is a sequel, but it sure seems like it is, what with all the established characters seeming to continue on their predetermined character paths. It also seems to have set up for another book, so even if this isn’t a sequel, I’m pretty sure it will have one, if it doesn’t already.
On a similar note, the story works to advance several characters at once, and it handles this by cycling among them rather rapidly, even in ongoing scenes. Paired with the multiple well-established characters whom I had trouble remembering, this made it rather difficult for me to keep up with what was happening to whom. I did eventually get used to the style and pick up on the details that eluded me at the beginning of the reading. By the end, I knew enough to really get into the craziness these folks were getting up to.
Finally, this story was smart in many ways. The humor, the puns, and the witticisms left me chuckling, when I realized they were there. Sometimes I had to pull out the dictionary, many times actually, and I actually highlighted a couple of new words I liked. The plot itself is complex and interrelated, all drawing to a close like a well-formulated mystery novel.
Overall, I enjoyed this story, but it challenged me. I must say folks who enjoy a good urban paranormal with British humor mixed in will likely enjoy this, but I recommend reading this alongside a good cup of tea or caffeine invigorator of choice so as to keep up with the thing. Reading it on the Kindle was very helpful with the handy built in dictionary, which revealed to me the meanings of all but one of the unfamiliar words I encountered in the reading.
I received the review copy of this book from the author via Pure Textuality PR. This review was written for the blog at puretextualitypr.com.
January 18, 2019
After reading the blurb of this book, I agree to review it. I mean you can tell from that blurb I was going to have some LOL moments, and I was right. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be saying feck and fecking for everything for a while.
"Her arms outstretched with fingers extended. Palms glowing with bright, green light. Lighting crackled in her eyes. Una addressed the hall: "What feckery is this?!"
I love reading books when magic and clandestine societies are involved, both of which is done fantastically here.
This story takes place with a particular group headquartered in the Grand Reference Library at London HQ, with the help of an inside source on the police force, this group with ordinary day jobs investigates dangerous magical beings. Although not all who works at London HQ "the office" are "magickal", some are just ordinary humans wanting to make a difference. They do their work in plain sight of the normal humans and those on a need to know.
There are murders afoot in this immersive and compelling magical tale of keeping the world balanced at all cost. KJ Bauer weaved the magical with the realness of everyday living and takes us for a ride throughout London, and sometimes into the grubby underworld where malevolent creatures dwell and must be dealt with. The descriptions of some of these creatures will make you shudder.
There's a lot of talk about enchanted stones, in particular, the lion stone which we learn a bit more about as well as the other stones as the story progresses, like how and what they're used for. The story switches between the past and the present so that we can understand why the Reference Library exists.
Amidst everything else, a boy (JP) is found by the group after Una sent them out to find the lion stone and so they must now figure out who he is and why they found him where they did. Someone is after the boy, will the group figure out who it is before it's too late.
I love the characters in this book right away, the banter that goes on between them are hilarious. There are quite a few characters to keep up with though, a lot of these characters are well developed, although I didn't have any trouble keeping up with them. My favourite is Una the sorceress, the leader of her flock at the Office, also known in the office as Team Awesome. The magic that happens throughout the book is amazing. I quite enjoyed it.
And then there's the centuries-old enemy the Dunraven's, who were thought to have wallowed in witchcraft and sacrificial rituals. Learning about the Dunraven's was very intriguing, the cursed placed upon his family and what Emil Schäfer Dunraven the last living son does to preserve himself and his family legacy.
A lot has happened here, but it looks like a lot more need to happen. So hopefully there'll be a second book after this. KJ Bauer?
I mean come on, what about Tashta she was born into a legacy of magical champions, will she live up to it? And Una, after finding out what Una truly is, will we get to see some more of her awesomeness, how she will deal with it and move forward I have to know dammit LOL.
I truly did enjoy this book, I LOL quite a bit while witnessing some awesome magic at play. I highly recommend this book for those who love magic, suspense, the paranormal and laughter. You get all of this and more in FLOCK.
"Her arms outstretched with fingers extended. Palms glowing with bright, green light. Lighting crackled in her eyes. Una addressed the hall: "What feckery is this?!"
I love reading books when magic and clandestine societies are involved, both of which is done fantastically here.
This story takes place with a particular group headquartered in the Grand Reference Library at London HQ, with the help of an inside source on the police force, this group with ordinary day jobs investigates dangerous magical beings. Although not all who works at London HQ "the office" are "magickal", some are just ordinary humans wanting to make a difference. They do their work in plain sight of the normal humans and those on a need to know.
There are murders afoot in this immersive and compelling magical tale of keeping the world balanced at all cost. KJ Bauer weaved the magical with the realness of everyday living and takes us for a ride throughout London, and sometimes into the grubby underworld where malevolent creatures dwell and must be dealt with. The descriptions of some of these creatures will make you shudder.
There's a lot of talk about enchanted stones, in particular, the lion stone which we learn a bit more about as well as the other stones as the story progresses, like how and what they're used for. The story switches between the past and the present so that we can understand why the Reference Library exists.
Amidst everything else, a boy (JP) is found by the group after Una sent them out to find the lion stone and so they must now figure out who he is and why they found him where they did. Someone is after the boy, will the group figure out who it is before it's too late.
I love the characters in this book right away, the banter that goes on between them are hilarious. There are quite a few characters to keep up with though, a lot of these characters are well developed, although I didn't have any trouble keeping up with them. My favourite is Una the sorceress, the leader of her flock at the Office, also known in the office as Team Awesome. The magic that happens throughout the book is amazing. I quite enjoyed it.
And then there's the centuries-old enemy the Dunraven's, who were thought to have wallowed in witchcraft and sacrificial rituals. Learning about the Dunraven's was very intriguing, the cursed placed upon his family and what Emil Schäfer Dunraven the last living son does to preserve himself and his family legacy.
A lot has happened here, but it looks like a lot more need to happen. So hopefully there'll be a second book after this. KJ Bauer?
I mean come on, what about Tashta she was born into a legacy of magical champions, will she live up to it? And Una, after finding out what Una truly is, will we get to see some more of her awesomeness, how she will deal with it and move forward I have to know dammit LOL.
I truly did enjoy this book, I LOL quite a bit while witnessing some awesome magic at play. I highly recommend this book for those who love magic, suspense, the paranormal and laughter. You get all of this and more in FLOCK.
February 24, 2019
Within London there is a secret organisation called "The Office" where they look after unworldly knowledge and investigate crises that appear. However at the book start there is one of the most important crises - they are out of chocolate digestive biscuits!! Amy and Fletch are bickering when they make a discovery which sets in motion events from a city-wide upsets, a riot and fallout from a powerful enchanted stone. They team together with workmate Tashta and their boss Una as they investigate paranormal mysteries, conspiracy theories and stolen contraband all connected to the stone. Can they survive a hidden agenda and shadowy foe that could prove lethal?
I found this book hard to get into, but having stuck with it I found it an enjoyable read that was both clever and funny. I'm sure you will soon have "feck" as your new swear word as you get used to the language used in this book - which is not bad but definitely amusing. The banter between the characters was really amusing and very enjoyable - the book is almost worth reading just for that! Loads of cool magic, mystery and drama it was a fun read. Well written and very enjoyable.
I found this book hard to get into, but having stuck with it I found it an enjoyable read that was both clever and funny. I'm sure you will soon have "feck" as your new swear word as you get used to the language used in this book - which is not bad but definitely amusing. The banter between the characters was really amusing and very enjoyable - the book is almost worth reading just for that! Loads of cool magic, mystery and drama it was a fun read. Well written and very enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews