Aug 23, 2017

Show of Evil.... Martin Vail vs Aron Stampler

Show of EvilShow of Evil by William Diehl

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Martin Vail vs Aron Stampler...

Back in April 2006, when I first read Primal Fear, I knew I wanted to know more. About both of these people... I was intrigued and mystified... a little terrified also... especially by the parting statement from Aron.

As the sequel to the chilling and entertaining Primal Fear, Show of Evil is a good book to read. If you have not read the Primal Fear, you might want to pick and read that one first. Because its a sequel in the most sequel like fashion....though it shares information about the earlier book, if you truly want to experience the thrill...

As novels go, I still prefer reading the first one. As a standalone novel, Show of Evil might fall short on intensity and flow. It misses out on the brilliance of Marty Vail as a strategist and risk taker. In Show of Evil, you see Marty as being referred as both the skills however, there's hardly any show of him actually being both. You miss out on his and judge's banter and discussions. Those I believe were a treat for the reader in Primal Fear.

So, in and all, Show of Evil stands on the good graces of Primal Fear without much of its own merit to shine. There are some fast paced action sequences and schemes... but nothing much to its individual credit. If you have read Primal Fear, you might enjoy Show of Evil as a followup to read... however, as a standalone... I'm not so sure.



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Jun 21, 2017

Back to school...Magic School this time...



I've never read, or heard about Holly Black. Cassandra Clare was another story all together. I've been hooked to her Shadowhunter world for a while now. When I finished one of her latest "Lady Midnight" and the next one in the series "Lord of Shadows" was a week away from being published; the restless reader in me wanted the magic fix... and Magisterium was offered as "you might also like" suggestion...

Reeling from the overdose of emotional turmoil of the The Dark Artifices, I picked up the first one from the series... "The Iron Trial"

Now, if you ever have read Ms. Clare; you know that there is going to be a lot of things going on, especially emotion heavy stuff. There's going to be young people and their always on the verge of explosion emotions. They are going to be shouldering unexpected and unprecedented responsibilities and would be expected to handle things and situations that they clearly are NOT prepared for. So, when Iron Trial didn't meet any of those expectations...

Mind you, I;m not saying I did not like it... I'm just saying, this was a truly surprising couple... There is a young boy, who has magic in him. He's got an overprotective father who doesn't want him to attend a magic school. He ends up in the school despite his efforts to flunk it. As time goes, he learns to LIKE the school and even makes friends... including a furry one at that. (Any narrative that has a pawed canine-like animal in it, and I'm SOLD). And as he (the boy, not the canine) is getting hang of the whole school and magic, we learn that the 'hero' of the story is also the 'villain' of it...

Then it becomes a narrative of struggle of identity crisis surrounded magic and adolescence emotions than a fight between good guy and the bad guy where you know the good triumphs over the evil...

And for me, that was what hooked me. The idea of MAYBE there is a chance that we are embarking on a journey where the story is not going through expected route. That MAYBE we are going to enjoy reading something that will surprise as it progresses...

Surprisingly the second one in the series managed to continue the trend. Callum Hunt and his second year in Magisterium proved to be as exciting and unexpected and as unpredictable as the first one. The friendships bloomed in the first grow fonder, the bonds grow deeper, new alliances are formed and old one's rejuvenate. Villains change gears, and frenemies surprise. I'm actually looking forward to Callum's third year. And I don't really want to dwell on the fact that the author duo is still writing the rest of the series.. and its another 2 books before I go on that... "WAIT till next one is released". Going by the speed I finished the first two.... its just a matter of 3 more weeks before the wait begins.

Till then... off to the third year of Magisterium we go...

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