Book Review -- Dead of Light by Chaz Brenchley

[alfreda89]

Dead of Light by Chaz Brenchley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Ben Macallan finally left home, it was a relief for everyone. "I’m disinvesting" he told them, and did not plan to return. Ben is the odd man out in his family, the only one with no recognizable "talent." A clan that runs a city and beyond using an arsenal of magical "talents" (think small scale Mafia) doesn’t need any dead weight cluttering up the scenery.

But then one of Ben’s cousins is murdered, ruthlessly and painfully. Evidence suggests that the murderer also possesses magic - powerful, corrosive magic. Ben has been a decent student at university, but the chief lesson here is, you can’t turn your back on family. As the murders continue, Ben notices that it is those perceived as weakest who are being picked off first. And if he doesn’t figure out what’s going on fast, odds are good he’ll soon be a corpse himself.

This is my first book by Chaz Brenchley, but it won’t be my last. The man has enormous depth as a writer, giving us a searing portrait of a young man who has never lived among normal people, and has no idea how relationships are carried out. His family ties are shaky at best, and when breakthrough is finally achieved, and he discovers that he has an unknown form of talent, he scarcely knows what to do with it.

It’s possible that a skilled reader of suspense will see where the book is going earlier than I did, but I was so caught up in the protagonist’s POV I arrived at the answer when he did. This book also has horror aspects - the deaths are not soft-pedaled, and I confess to jumping over some of the details. But if you like your fantasy mixed with strong characterization and suspense, with a dollop of genuine horror (and the magic may be the least of the horror, in the end) then you must try a Brenchley novel!


I discovered this as an ebook at Book View Café.
View all my reviews

Comments

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Hee. I'm delighted that you liked it.

Would it be outrageous of me to point out here that Desdaemona by Ben Macallan is the novel he wrote after his two acts of memoir, Dead of Light and its sequel, Light Errant? (I needed a new pseudonym, and of course Ben would turn to fiction next; and of course he would write urban fantasy, after living it all his life. Desdaemona is published by Solaris, and is available all over, in both paperback and e-book formats.) (End of plug.)

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I remember that story! When I posted a dowry for you, I remember mentioning that. I will continue Ben's adventures after I read a few more of our other BVC comrades!

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Just wait till you read Shelter... He can freeze your bone-marrow and make you cry all at once.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I may not make it that far. Despite the darkness of Night Calls and Kindred Rites, I don't read a lot of horror. It's not the stories per se -- it's what my mind will do with them for the next two weeks.

I have enough trouble sleeping. So I don't read much horror, and I don't watch it on the screen! Writing it, I can control what happens.

But I will probably read the sequel, eventually, and the Daniel Fox fantasies. 'Cis Chaz is GOOD!

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

It isn't really horror, though it was marketed that way. It's more a character study with a murder-mystery framework. I can't read horror either.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Ah. Then I'll put it on my to-read list. Thanks!