What's this book about?
Law student Lex Trent is a very lucky man, literary speaking, Lex uses his luck to steal(he really is 'The Shadowman') and con people. One day when it seems like Lex has run out of luck and there seems to be no no escaping jail, the goddess of Luck appears. Lex strikes a deal with the goddess and escapes the police. Lex agrees to be the goddess player in the very dangerous Games, where gods uses humans as play pieces in their own game.
Check out the synopsis on Goodreads.
My thoughts:
Alex Bell certainly has skills when it comes to writing characters that are true to their kind. Lex Trent, the main character, is one selfish boy and his actions made me nod along thinking "I know a couple of Lex Trent's in real life". It's much easier to like some of the supporting characters, for Lex is not a sympathetic person.
Lex and his twin brother lost their parents when they were young. The boys were left in the care of their grandfather, Allister Trent. After a few years of taking care of the boys Allister got the soulless wake, in this book the soulless wake is the fantasy equivalent to Alzheimer. Bell impressed me with the way she wrote about the illness and it becomes evident that she has experienced it up close and personal. I lost my grandmother last winter and she suffered from Alzheimer so I too have first hand knowledge of how the illness gradually takes away your loved one long before they pass away. Lex cannot handle the fact that his grandfather is ill and he escapes to the city. During the day he works in a law firm and in his spare time he is thief.
Lex almost ends up in jail but somehow luck(and a deal with the goddess herself) helps him get away. That's when the story begins and Lex steals an enchanters ship(that will get him into a lot of trouble in the future).
I was super exited about the this book but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. I never felt there was a climax to the story and I felt I wanted more of the world building(I felt it only scratched the surface). The scenes that were supposed to be getting me a bit closer to the edge of my seat never managed to do just that and the problems were to easily solved to my liking. I thought the characters were cleverly written but I never could connect to the story. Still things that happened in the last chapters of the book remained unsolved, but there wasn't any cliffhanger ending, so I think I need to check out the sequel, due in 2011
My rating of this book:
2,5 stars out of 5.
Want a second opinion? Check out the reviews written by some of my book blogging friends below:
So far only one of the blogs I follow have reviewed the book about Lex Trent, but I expect there will be more reviews from my friends in the future and then I'll update the list below.
A taste from Ana's review over at The Book Smugglers(do check out the entire review):
An excellent story, with a protagonist who is the epitome of the irreverent scoundrel set against an inventive mythological world, what is not to like?
Want to know more?
Visit Alex Bell's homepage
Read Alex's blog
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Pages(paperback): 344
Publisher: Headline
ISBN 13: 9780755355181
Full disclosure: I received this book from the publisher for a review. I want to thank Samantha at Headline for providing me with a copy of this book.
