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Blackthorne
Orphan. Conman. Conscript. Inmate. Haunted by the ghosts of his past, Mattias Temple, a failed cadre necromancer, is mauled by fate. When a rogue military squad kidnaps the governor and threatens the city with a magical plague, he has a shot to redeem a lifetime of mistakes and be the one thing he never thought possible: A hero.
Freed from prison, paired with Bridget, a Blackthorne operative, he sets out to right the one crime that truly haunts him.
As the body count rises Mattias finds himself neck-deep in trouble and drowning in ghosts. Hunted by the mercenary company he betrayed and facing the horrors of feral witchcraft, the question remains: who is Mattias Temple, and what does he want? Revenge, or something more?
Freed from prison, paired with Bridget, a Blackthorne operative, he sets out to right the one crime that truly haunts him.
As the body count rises Mattias finds himself neck-deep in trouble and drowning in ghosts. Hunted by the mercenary company he betrayed and facing the horrors of feral witchcraft, the question remains: who is Mattias Temple, and what does he want? Revenge, or something more?
364 pages, Paperback
Published September 5, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 1, 2022
Original review posted on my blog Out of This World SFF:
https://outofthisworldrev.blogspot.co...
Clayton W. Snyder is an author who is impressive for so many reasons. First, he has the ability to pen books that are so different in theme, setting, and tone. Whether it be low fantasy, fantasy westerns, heist fantasy, grimdark, and now with his latest book BLACKTHORNE - a mixture of cyberpunk and military sf in addition to just a sprinkle of witchcraft and magic. Another reason why I love Snyder's books is that he writes some of the best dialogue around, very reminiscent of the way Joe Abercrombie does in my opinion. The level of snark is always high and it brilliantly offsets the dark and intensely personal storylines that he often weaves into his work.
This book is a little different in that, yes the opening scene is one of the more violent and brutal that I have read, but after that it is relatively tame on the Snyder body count scale and settles into an engrossing melding of action, magic, extremely cool advanced sf tech, and imaginative worldbuilding. That's not to say that there aren't moments of that trademark Snyder grimdarkishness, but it's saved for the appropriate moments and that makes it all the more effective and powerful in my opinion.
Mattias Temple is a complex and intriguing main character. Born with a certain unique ability and growing up with an abusive father, a traumatic event suddenly leaves him under the supervision of those who operate Blackthorne. A cold facility for the especially gifted in the arts of necromancy among other things, Blackthorne is pitched as a place that will keep him safe while also honing his powers. But for all intents and purposes it is a demoralizing prison to Mattias. Daily life is pretty awful and you can find yourself in the morgue quickly if you don't have the protection of the right people.
One of those people just happens to be a most vile, despicable, sociopath named Amon. Snyder commented online that he wasn't sure whether Amon was enough of a bastard when he wrote him as the villain. I'm here to unequivocally say that I literally DESPISED this dude. My hatred for him is what fueled my late night reading sessions just hoping beyond hope that he eventually got what was coming to him. I mean, I wanted to reach into this book and take him out myself on more than one occasion, that's what a complete a-hole this guy is. So mission accomplished on the whole villain thing Clayton! There's an intense cat and mouse storyline between Mattias and Amon that really created an atmosphere of high stakes throughout.
Oh and just when I thought things couldn't get any better with this unputdownable book, that ending! There's nothing worse than being totally sucked into a book only to be let down by a flat or uninspired ending. No worries with BLACKTHORNE as the ending was stupid crazy and something that I didn't see coming. It rivalled the ending of Snyder's previous book Norylska Groans in both shock value and thrills. So if you love tremendous endings to books, I've got one for you.
I really can't say enough about BLACKTHORNE. All I can do is urge that you read it because I promise that you will be both entertained and also put through the emotional wringer. The thing that separates Clayton Snyder's stories from many in the genre is that they all include characters who are deeply real and experience some form of pain and loss that pretty much everyone can relate to. As a result I always find myself rooting for them even if they sometimes use questionable methods to achieve their objectives. Most of us know the feeling of being dealt a crap hand and Mattias Temple has been dealt one of the worst in his young life. Mattias may not fit the standard definition of a hero, but this story in particular shows us that heroes don't always wear capes and save kittens from trees. Truly a mesmerizing read that I recommend to anyone who loves sf and fantasy with guts, heart, and feeling.
https://outofthisworldrev.blogspot.co...
Clayton W. Snyder is an author who is impressive for so many reasons. First, he has the ability to pen books that are so different in theme, setting, and tone. Whether it be low fantasy, fantasy westerns, heist fantasy, grimdark, and now with his latest book BLACKTHORNE - a mixture of cyberpunk and military sf in addition to just a sprinkle of witchcraft and magic. Another reason why I love Snyder's books is that he writes some of the best dialogue around, very reminiscent of the way Joe Abercrombie does in my opinion. The level of snark is always high and it brilliantly offsets the dark and intensely personal storylines that he often weaves into his work.
This book is a little different in that, yes the opening scene is one of the more violent and brutal that I have read, but after that it is relatively tame on the Snyder body count scale and settles into an engrossing melding of action, magic, extremely cool advanced sf tech, and imaginative worldbuilding. That's not to say that there aren't moments of that trademark Snyder grimdarkishness, but it's saved for the appropriate moments and that makes it all the more effective and powerful in my opinion.
Mattias Temple is a complex and intriguing main character. Born with a certain unique ability and growing up with an abusive father, a traumatic event suddenly leaves him under the supervision of those who operate Blackthorne. A cold facility for the especially gifted in the arts of necromancy among other things, Blackthorne is pitched as a place that will keep him safe while also honing his powers. But for all intents and purposes it is a demoralizing prison to Mattias. Daily life is pretty awful and you can find yourself in the morgue quickly if you don't have the protection of the right people.
One of those people just happens to be a most vile, despicable, sociopath named Amon. Snyder commented online that he wasn't sure whether Amon was enough of a bastard when he wrote him as the villain. I'm here to unequivocally say that I literally DESPISED this dude. My hatred for him is what fueled my late night reading sessions just hoping beyond hope that he eventually got what was coming to him. I mean, I wanted to reach into this book and take him out myself on more than one occasion, that's what a complete a-hole this guy is. So mission accomplished on the whole villain thing Clayton! There's an intense cat and mouse storyline between Mattias and Amon that really created an atmosphere of high stakes throughout.
Oh and just when I thought things couldn't get any better with this unputdownable book, that ending! There's nothing worse than being totally sucked into a book only to be let down by a flat or uninspired ending. No worries with BLACKTHORNE as the ending was stupid crazy and something that I didn't see coming. It rivalled the ending of Snyder's previous book Norylska Groans in both shock value and thrills. So if you love tremendous endings to books, I've got one for you.
I really can't say enough about BLACKTHORNE. All I can do is urge that you read it because I promise that you will be both entertained and also put through the emotional wringer. The thing that separates Clayton Snyder's stories from many in the genre is that they all include characters who are deeply real and experience some form of pain and loss that pretty much everyone can relate to. As a result I always find myself rooting for them even if they sometimes use questionable methods to achieve their objectives. Most of us know the feeling of being dealt a crap hand and Mattias Temple has been dealt one of the worst in his young life. Mattias may not fit the standard definition of a hero, but this story in particular shows us that heroes don't always wear capes and save kittens from trees. Truly a mesmerizing read that I recommend to anyone who loves sf and fantasy with guts, heart, and feeling.
June 30, 2022
Necromancy, witchcraft, mechs, bugpunk, ghosts, navy seal missions and tentacle monsters. Fresh WTFery in each chapter. Relentless action.
One criticism with the book was how much stock was put into a relationship that Temple had with a woman that we barely met. Many of Temple's decisions were based on how he felt about this woman, yet we glossed over their relationship entirely as we spanned over his early years. It made me wish they had some actual scenes together to build their relationship, make it tangible, make it real, instead of just taking Temple's word for it. I would have been more invested in Temple's emotional journey if I knew his first love a little better, and it would have hit harder as that journey morphed into something else further into the book.
Outside of that, it was a real pleasure to expect the unexpected with this story. By now, I'm used to not getting much in the way of "why?" from Snyder's books; there's far too much madness in the worlds he's created to try and figure out the answers to questions like "why the bugs? when the mechs? how the necros...?" and so on. How all these discombobulate articles can be glued together so cohesively and tell such a fun story remains a mystery to me, but it's a trick that the talented Snyder keeps pulling off in his books.
Blackthorne is a grim, magical-techno-military-thriller that doesn't give you any time to catch your breath. There are inventive ideas in nearly every chapter, and the action pieces--of which there are many--are written so well, they put you right in the midst of battle. Although this is a standalone, the world is ripe with plenty of stories left to tell. Explaining the origin of any number of story threads can be a book unto itself. But sometimes its better if you don't sweat the details, lock-and-load, and haul ass to the next checkpoint before the reality-tearing hellspawn levels the city.
One criticism with the book was how much stock was put into a relationship that Temple had with a woman that we barely met. Many of Temple's decisions were based on how he felt about this woman, yet we glossed over their relationship entirely as we spanned over his early years. It made me wish they had some actual scenes together to build their relationship, make it tangible, make it real, instead of just taking Temple's word for it. I would have been more invested in Temple's emotional journey if I knew his first love a little better, and it would have hit harder as that journey morphed into something else further into the book.
Outside of that, it was a real pleasure to expect the unexpected with this story. By now, I'm used to not getting much in the way of "why?" from Snyder's books; there's far too much madness in the worlds he's created to try and figure out the answers to questions like "why the bugs? when the mechs? how the necros...?" and so on. How all these discombobulate articles can be glued together so cohesively and tell such a fun story remains a mystery to me, but it's a trick that the talented Snyder keeps pulling off in his books.
Blackthorne is a grim, magical-techno-military-thriller that doesn't give you any time to catch your breath. There are inventive ideas in nearly every chapter, and the action pieces--of which there are many--are written so well, they put you right in the midst of battle. Although this is a standalone, the world is ripe with plenty of stories left to tell. Explaining the origin of any number of story threads can be a book unto itself. But sometimes its better if you don't sweat the details, lock-and-load, and haul ass to the next checkpoint before the reality-tearing hellspawn levels the city.
July 14, 2022
I read this book kind of like I was a male narrating Sin City. Yes, this book is cool, really cool, and edgy, and I think I was roughly three quarters in before I noticed the POV and realised why I was reading in someone else's voice. What I'm saying is, I was very much engrossed and rather carried away by the narrative.
Anyway . . . the MC – thanks to his rare gift, he gets put through the wringer with a series of unfortunate events, some really nasty people, and a whole lot of greed. There's a little bit of good luck sprinklefd in there, but this guy's life is not easy. Just when things begin looking up for the intrepid, but rebellious, Mattias Temple, they swiftly go to crap, forcing him to improvise and rethink his goals.
This story, this whole world is inventive and different. The witches are different, the necromancy works differently, the creatures are new and different, and while this story is kinda grim, it's very refreshing to read something with such an imaginative spin.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's clever and immersive, and I would love to read more in this world.
Anyway . . . the MC – thanks to his rare gift, he gets put through the wringer with a series of unfortunate events, some really nasty people, and a whole lot of greed. There's a little bit of good luck sprinklefd in there, but this guy's life is not easy. Just when things begin looking up for the intrepid, but rebellious, Mattias Temple, they swiftly go to crap, forcing him to improvise and rethink his goals.
This story, this whole world is inventive and different. The witches are different, the necromancy works differently, the creatures are new and different, and while this story is kinda grim, it's very refreshing to read something with such an imaginative spin.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's clever and immersive, and I would love to read more in this world.
July 27, 2022
I was lucky enough to receive an advanced review copy of this book. And I'm very glad I was given the opportunity, I found Blackthorne to be a real page turner and enjoyed it from cover to cover. There are some very dark and bloody moments that are mixed perfectly with the dark humour and moments of real levity. The characters are well written and feel very human despite the cyberpunk-esque setting and themes.
Mattias is and sometimes can be a terrible person but reading his gradual redemption arc to being a half decent human being was great. The action is punchy, visceral and well thought out and I devoured the book in next to no time at all.
Mattias is and sometimes can be a terrible person but reading his gradual redemption arc to being a half decent human being was great. The action is punchy, visceral and well thought out and I devoured the book in next to no time at all.
March 14, 2023
This book drops us into a blazing inferno, guns blazing, and doesn't let up until the very last page. Told in first person, we follow the story of Mattias Temple, an orphan turned lab rat for his ability as a necromancer in a futuristic society.
I will caveat this review with the fact that this is not my usual genre, but I have been known to love science fiction when it tells a good story with good characters, same as any other genre. I really struggled with how to review/rate this one.
The first third of this book I had a hard time putting down. The breakneck action and the interesting insect-inspired worldbuilding surprised me with how much I was intrigued by it. My main frustrations with this book came later on, when it seemed like the cycle of plot events was becoming repetitive.
For the most part, I thought the voice of the protagonist was strong and had so many really excellent moments exposing the realities of military life and struggles in the aftermath of it. I thought the creature designs and the overall action was well written.
The transitions between chapters and events also became quite jarring, which may or may not have been the intention, and honestly fits with the overall feel and pace of the story, but for me personally it was difficult to keep up with. Things were happening so fast that by the time I had even a basic handle on what I was seeing, we were moving on and there was a new conflict.
The main character does dip back and forth between the dark gritty protagonist and gratuitously edgelord. For me, it was a bit too far on the secondary side.
I will caveat this review with the fact that this is not my usual genre, but I have been known to love science fiction when it tells a good story with good characters, same as any other genre. I really struggled with how to review/rate this one.
The first third of this book I had a hard time putting down. The breakneck action and the interesting insect-inspired worldbuilding surprised me with how much I was intrigued by it. My main frustrations with this book came later on, when it seemed like the cycle of plot events was becoming repetitive.
For the most part, I thought the voice of the protagonist was strong and had so many really excellent moments exposing the realities of military life and struggles in the aftermath of it. I thought the creature designs and the overall action was well written.
The transitions between chapters and events also became quite jarring, which may or may not have been the intention, and honestly fits with the overall feel and pace of the story, but for me personally it was difficult to keep up with. Things were happening so fast that by the time I had even a basic handle on what I was seeing, we were moving on and there was a new conflict.
The main character does dip back and forth between the dark gritty protagonist and gratuitously edgelord. For me, it was a bit too far on the secondary side.
July 18, 2022
RTC 19/07
April 12, 2023
I need a rest after reading this high octane adventure. It certainly is full of non-stop action, mostly of the military fantasy variety. A SciFi/fantasy mix with cyberpunk and magical backdrops, centred around Matthias Temple, a sad, tragic figure with an attitude.
Not my usual scene, with so much military action, but I got swept up in the fast pace of the story and the uncertainly about how much we knew about the forces at work and where they were taking the story. Indeed there’s quite a twisty ending.
There were periods when I felt we were being taken through a Shoot ‘Em Up video game. I’m not a gamer but sometimes it reminded me of Doom, with Matthias and colleagues, well armed, progressing through scenarios where they were confronted with all sorts of bizarre creatures and magical weaponry. However, I found that Matthias’ revengeful desire and sheer bloody mindfulness gave it a more human element.
I’ve only read the author once previously, coauthor to the excellent SPFBO runner up,Norylska Groans. This is quite different in style although they share the same dark violent vibes. I preferred that previous read but I was impressed here at the imagination used to create this story.
Maybe only a 3.5* because there was just too much shoot ‘em up action for my taste, but boosted because I got caught up in the energetic flow of the story with nice plot twists. Good world building and very good dialogue too. I’ll look some more at this author’s back catalogue for sure.
Not my usual scene, with so much military action, but I got swept up in the fast pace of the story and the uncertainly about how much we knew about the forces at work and where they were taking the story. Indeed there’s quite a twisty ending.
There were periods when I felt we were being taken through a Shoot ‘Em Up video game. I’m not a gamer but sometimes it reminded me of Doom, with Matthias and colleagues, well armed, progressing through scenarios where they were confronted with all sorts of bizarre creatures and magical weaponry. However, I found that Matthias’ revengeful desire and sheer bloody mindfulness gave it a more human element.
I’ve only read the author once previously, coauthor to the excellent SPFBO runner up,Norylska Groans. This is quite different in style although they share the same dark violent vibes. I preferred that previous read but I was impressed here at the imagination used to create this story.
Maybe only a 3.5* because there was just too much shoot ‘em up action for my taste, but boosted because I got caught up in the energetic flow of the story with nice plot twists. Good world building and very good dialogue too. I’ll look some more at this author’s back catalogue for sure.
August 1, 2022
Awesome Cyberpunk Fantasy
Damn, that was a bloody gore fest of exsplosiveness cyberpunk fantasy at its finest. I absolutely love Clayton W Snyders writing, it's dark, witty and the depraved humour he brings to his books holds no bounds. His imagination for creating unimaginable twisted creatures and monsters of all sorts of deformity, if you already have read Clayton's books you already know some of the creatures he has come up with in the past that are absolutely terrifying and hilarious at the same time. The worldbuilding and setting in Blackthorne is incredible with its dystopian technologies, insectoid vehicles and machinery. From the very first page to the last is action packed to the hilt. When a young orphan Mattias Temple is taken to Blackthorne after the death of his parents. Blackthorne is no ordinary place for kids unless they have a special talent and Mattias is Necromancy. Mattias Temple wants to live a normal life, but with Blackthorne running the show nothing will ever be normal for our protagonist. Escape is the only solution and with Clayton W Snyder at the wheel of this cracker, expect the unexpected. Just brilliant and very highly recommend...😁💥🗡🐝🪲🪳
Damn, that was a bloody gore fest of exsplosiveness cyberpunk fantasy at its finest. I absolutely love Clayton W Snyders writing, it's dark, witty and the depraved humour he brings to his books holds no bounds. His imagination for creating unimaginable twisted creatures and monsters of all sorts of deformity, if you already have read Clayton's books you already know some of the creatures he has come up with in the past that are absolutely terrifying and hilarious at the same time. The worldbuilding and setting in Blackthorne is incredible with its dystopian technologies, insectoid vehicles and machinery. From the very first page to the last is action packed to the hilt. When a young orphan Mattias Temple is taken to Blackthorne after the death of his parents. Blackthorne is no ordinary place for kids unless they have a special talent and Mattias is Necromancy. Mattias Temple wants to live a normal life, but with Blackthorne running the show nothing will ever be normal for our protagonist. Escape is the only solution and with Clayton W Snyder at the wheel of this cracker, expect the unexpected. Just brilliant and very highly recommend...😁💥🗡🐝🪲🪳
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November 11, 2022I read this book for the SPSFC2
This book was surprising, in a lot of ways, and I had a really good time with it (even if calling it “good time” sounds strange because it is not a soft or happy book, we have some dark themes in there, and we have war, we have deaths and sufferance so… it is not really a happy book and saying that I had a good time just doesn’t really sit right, anyway, I was captivated by it and I was invested in the story, this should cover it!) but there are also some things that could have been done differently, in my opinion. So be warned: while reading my review, it could seem that the buts are more than the yes, but make no mistake, this book was pretty solid and I recommend it if you are in for some war stories!
There are two things that I really really enjoyed about this book: first thing first, it is a sci-fi book (sure, it is not hard sci-fi, but it is sci-fi all the same) and there are some fantasy elements really well blended in the world. We have necromancers and witches (and the witches are just the scariest witches ever!), and there is also the part of the story about the Bastion that blends fantasy and sci-fi amazingly. Truth be told, I would have loved to have more about world-building, because the author gives you enough to go by and not be lost, but it is not enough. There are so many intriguing ideas in there, both for the sci-fi and for the fantasy elements (because yes, I really want to see more of the Bastion, it was such an intriguing place!). So yeah, more would have been better, but what we see is intriguing!
And then I loved the dialogue! We have banter and irony. And they were always so on point, so cutting. I loved the dialogue in there!
Mind me, there were other good things, these two were just my favorite. The writing is also pretty good, it is smooth and captivating. It is pretty straightforward, but it sort of mesmerizes you, because even in the points in which I wasn’t really happy about the story (not because is bad, but because sometimes you need to suspend your disbelief, but more on this in a moment) I was always captivated by the book and it was quite hard to put down.
And Mattias is an interesting MC. He is a necromancer, a conman, and a soldier, of a sort. And even if he is not the strongest out there, and he is not always known to make the best choices, and he is also a coward, from time to time, he is for sure smart. Even if it’s not always crystal clear. And even if he can be a coward (or it’s just that he has a strong self-preservation instinct) he can also be a focused soldier. And he was interesting.
He is the main character, and the one that we get to know better, all the others are secondary, but Bridget is the almost exception there, and she was really interesting. I appreciated her and she is pretty sassy too, when she cares to be.
But, as I said before, you need to suspend your disbelief from time to time. My main problem with it is that we are told that necromancers are powerful and really useful and there aren’t a lot of them around. And yet in the beginning we see Mattias as a glorified lockpick. Then things get really started, the action began in earnest and you would see him at work more often. And that was interesting. I liked the necros in there! But then there are other points that didn’t make me happy, because if he is such a precious resource it really does not make sense that they keep him constantly in one prison or another. I am not saying that he should just walk free because he is a necromancer, and sure he is a criminal, but he is not as much as a criminal, and if it can stand to reason that you use prison to blackmail him and conscript him (as they did at one point), it stops to make sense when you just let him in prison to rot because he won’t tell on his other teammates… and they really do a shitty job in trying to make him talk, at that. And since he and all his former teammates are in prison, they shouldn’t need him to talk, because they are already all in prison. Sure, maybe if he talks they can bring in more charges, but they are in jail and it sounds like they will be for a long time, and all this while they are keeping one of the few necromancers they have in standby, and even worse than that, you need him and you do all you can to make him hate you (and when I say “you” I mean the Blackthorne, the organization behind all the things in this story). And I know that it sounds all a bit vague, but I can’t really be more precise here, because spoilers but I think that it makes all somehow sense, right?
So yeah, I wasn’t really happy about the plot, in particular with the “suspend your disbelief thing,” because I think that with some more explanation the thing could have worked but… not as it is. And still, it is an intriguing and captivating book, with some surprising things, and I am really happy to have read it. So if you are in for some war, actions, hell-beasts, and necromancers in a sci-fi setting, with some politics, intrigues, and some amazing dialogue well, I sure think you can give this one a try!
This book was surprising, in a lot of ways, and I had a really good time with it (even if calling it “good time” sounds strange because it is not a soft or happy book, we have some dark themes in there, and we have war, we have deaths and sufferance so… it is not really a happy book and saying that I had a good time just doesn’t really sit right, anyway, I was captivated by it and I was invested in the story, this should cover it!) but there are also some things that could have been done differently, in my opinion. So be warned: while reading my review, it could seem that the buts are more than the yes, but make no mistake, this book was pretty solid and I recommend it if you are in for some war stories!
There are two things that I really really enjoyed about this book: first thing first, it is a sci-fi book (sure, it is not hard sci-fi, but it is sci-fi all the same) and there are some fantasy elements really well blended in the world. We have necromancers and witches (and the witches are just the scariest witches ever!), and there is also the part of the story about the Bastion that blends fantasy and sci-fi amazingly. Truth be told, I would have loved to have more about world-building, because the author gives you enough to go by and not be lost, but it is not enough. There are so many intriguing ideas in there, both for the sci-fi and for the fantasy elements (because yes, I really want to see more of the Bastion, it was such an intriguing place!). So yeah, more would have been better, but what we see is intriguing!
And then I loved the dialogue! We have banter and irony. And they were always so on point, so cutting. I loved the dialogue in there!
Mind me, there were other good things, these two were just my favorite. The writing is also pretty good, it is smooth and captivating. It is pretty straightforward, but it sort of mesmerizes you, because even in the points in which I wasn’t really happy about the story (not because is bad, but because sometimes you need to suspend your disbelief, but more on this in a moment) I was always captivated by the book and it was quite hard to put down.
And Mattias is an interesting MC. He is a necromancer, a conman, and a soldier, of a sort. And even if he is not the strongest out there, and he is not always known to make the best choices, and he is also a coward, from time to time, he is for sure smart. Even if it’s not always crystal clear. And even if he can be a coward (or it’s just that he has a strong self-preservation instinct) he can also be a focused soldier. And he was interesting.
He is the main character, and the one that we get to know better, all the others are secondary, but Bridget is the almost exception there, and she was really interesting. I appreciated her and she is pretty sassy too, when she cares to be.
But, as I said before, you need to suspend your disbelief from time to time. My main problem with it is that we are told that necromancers are powerful and really useful and there aren’t a lot of them around. And yet in the beginning we see Mattias as a glorified lockpick. Then things get really started, the action began in earnest and you would see him at work more often. And that was interesting. I liked the necros in there! But then there are other points that didn’t make me happy, because if he is such a precious resource it really does not make sense that they keep him constantly in one prison or another. I am not saying that he should just walk free because he is a necromancer, and sure he is a criminal, but he is not as much as a criminal, and if it can stand to reason that you use prison to blackmail him and conscript him (as they did at one point), it stops to make sense when you just let him in prison to rot because he won’t tell on his other teammates… and they really do a shitty job in trying to make him talk, at that. And since he and all his former teammates are in prison, they shouldn’t need him to talk, because they are already all in prison. Sure, maybe if he talks they can bring in more charges, but they are in jail and it sounds like they will be for a long time, and all this while they are keeping one of the few necromancers they have in standby, and even worse than that, you need him and you do all you can to make him hate you (and when I say “you” I mean the Blackthorne, the organization behind all the things in this story). And I know that it sounds all a bit vague, but I can’t really be more precise here, because spoilers but I think that it makes all somehow sense, right?
So yeah, I wasn’t really happy about the plot, in particular with the “suspend your disbelief thing,” because I think that with some more explanation the thing could have worked but… not as it is. And still, it is an intriguing and captivating book, with some surprising things, and I am really happy to have read it. So if you are in for some war, actions, hell-beasts, and necromancers in a sci-fi setting, with some politics, intrigues, and some amazing dialogue well, I sure think you can give this one a try!
August 5, 2022
Clayton W. Snyder, author of The Obsidian Psalm and River of Thieves, and co-author of SPFBO runner-up Norylska Groans, writes insane tales that often make for somewhat bewildering reading while holding readers by the throat. One can’t help but reach for the next bewildering moment, the next weird creature, the next wild-assed character. In Blackthorne he delivers a mix of technothriller and military science fiction, stirring in some supernatural elements and some of those weird creatures. Oh, and a few ghosts too.
The Blackthorne of the title is a quasi-military outfit that specializes in necromancy, and when Mattias Temple‘s abusive father meets his end at the beginning of the story, the young boy, found sitting in a pool of blood, is whisked off to train with them. But it becomes no less a prison for him than his father’s farmhouse had been. Mattias has a gift – he can see ghosts, a one in a million trait that Blackthorne can use. But to do so they use Mattias as well.
The early chapters take on a bit of a jumpy pace as Mattias grows up and we learn both who he is and who he wants to be. Escape from Blackthorne is only escape into other forms of imprisonment. Even though he finds love in a long term relationship, Mattias is never quite his own man, ultimately finding himself in a real prison. Then Blackthorne whisks him away again, and the story gets properly rolling as he and Bridget, a Blackthorne operative with whom he is unwillingly paired, are dispatched to rescue a kidnapped governor. From here on the pace is steady as a rock as they navigate one obstacle after another, his prison nemesis Amon heading up the opposition and as eager to kill Mattias as he ever had been in their prison days.
One of Snyder’s greatest strengths is his prose. It can be mesmerizing and beautiful, most usually when describing the grimmest of scenes. Another is worldbuilding. In Blackthorne, he describes a somewhat technically advanced society dominated by an insectoid theme: both armor and vehicles are derived from the bodies of huge insects, the armor taken from their bodies and the vehicles actual modified insects darting along on six legs instead of four wheels. There is a heavy dose of the supernatural acknowledged in the world, from human abilities like Mattias’s ghost sense to witches and Lovecraftian creatures. Unfortunately, none of this is really explained, it’s just there. Still highly fun to read about, but I’d have liked to know more about why the huge bugs exist and how, if at all, they relate to other supernatural elements in the world.
Blackthorne is a grim but entertaining story with exciting action and sometimes disturbing psychology, and like his previous work keeps the reader a bit off balance at all times. No mention has been made of a sequel yet, but further exploration of the crazy world Mattias Temple calls home would be welcomed by this reader and, I’m sure, many others. I was given an advance copy of Blackthorne in return for a review. 4/5 stars, 8/10 on the traditional scale.
The Blackthorne of the title is a quasi-military outfit that specializes in necromancy, and when Mattias Temple‘s abusive father meets his end at the beginning of the story, the young boy, found sitting in a pool of blood, is whisked off to train with them. But it becomes no less a prison for him than his father’s farmhouse had been. Mattias has a gift – he can see ghosts, a one in a million trait that Blackthorne can use. But to do so they use Mattias as well.
The early chapters take on a bit of a jumpy pace as Mattias grows up and we learn both who he is and who he wants to be. Escape from Blackthorne is only escape into other forms of imprisonment. Even though he finds love in a long term relationship, Mattias is never quite his own man, ultimately finding himself in a real prison. Then Blackthorne whisks him away again, and the story gets properly rolling as he and Bridget, a Blackthorne operative with whom he is unwillingly paired, are dispatched to rescue a kidnapped governor. From here on the pace is steady as a rock as they navigate one obstacle after another, his prison nemesis Amon heading up the opposition and as eager to kill Mattias as he ever had been in their prison days.
One of Snyder’s greatest strengths is his prose. It can be mesmerizing and beautiful, most usually when describing the grimmest of scenes. Another is worldbuilding. In Blackthorne, he describes a somewhat technically advanced society dominated by an insectoid theme: both armor and vehicles are derived from the bodies of huge insects, the armor taken from their bodies and the vehicles actual modified insects darting along on six legs instead of four wheels. There is a heavy dose of the supernatural acknowledged in the world, from human abilities like Mattias’s ghost sense to witches and Lovecraftian creatures. Unfortunately, none of this is really explained, it’s just there. Still highly fun to read about, but I’d have liked to know more about why the huge bugs exist and how, if at all, they relate to other supernatural elements in the world.
Blackthorne is a grim but entertaining story with exciting action and sometimes disturbing psychology, and like his previous work keeps the reader a bit off balance at all times. No mention has been made of a sequel yet, but further exploration of the crazy world Mattias Temple calls home would be welcomed by this reader and, I’m sure, many others. I was given an advance copy of Blackthorne in return for a review. 4/5 stars, 8/10 on the traditional scale.
February 7, 2023
First let me say I REALLY like Clayton's books. I haven't read them all but I want to. Second, BLACKTHORNE was just really cool. Not what I expected and just an all around well written cyberpunk read with witches and necromancers. Maybe I'll write more sometime soon when I'm past my reviewing slump but I wanted to say this for now.
September 12, 2022
A grim and gutsy mash-up of military SF and gore spattered noir fantasy. Highly recommended and fingers crossed for a sequel.
August 8, 2022
A cool cyberpunk story with interesting worldbuilding and characters.
August 12, 2022
Blackthorne is a balls-to-the-wall cyberpunk/military-action/horror-fantasy action thriller that will have you turning those pages with sweaty palms and a tingling spine all night long.
If you're familiar with the works of Clayton Snyder, you know he specializes in psychologically damaged, morally gray anti-hero protagonists who find themselves challenged by overwhelming forces in a bleak world and doing whatever it takes to survive. With Mattias Temple, the protagonist of Blackthorne, Snyder has given us perhaps his greatest damaged anti-hero yet. When Temple's childhood is ripped violently away from him, he finds himself trained to be a tool of an oppressive paramilitary organization called Blackthorne, where his talent as a necromancer is weaponized. Just wanting to be left in peace, Temple's desperate attempts to escape his fate are futile against the might of Blackthorne. Circumstances beyond his control land him in prison, where it seems he will languish for the rest of his miserable life.
But when members of his former military unit go rogue, Blackthorne needs Temple's specialized skills again. Partnered up with a former antagonist who is more than she seems, Temple is once again weaponized and sent off on a suicide mission. That's when the action gets dialed up from ten to eleven, and the book becomes impossible to put down. [An aside: the witches--I LOVE THEM!!!]
And then the ending. Whoa! I don't want to give anything away, but prepare to be stone-cold stunned!
Blackthorne is an action thriller with emotional depth, but what really sets this book apart is Snyder's creativity in both content and narration. His impressionistic touches would make Monet proud, if Monet were into unconscionable horrors and rage against authoritarian injustice instead of water lilies.
If you're familiar with the works of Clayton Snyder, you know he specializes in psychologically damaged, morally gray anti-hero protagonists who find themselves challenged by overwhelming forces in a bleak world and doing whatever it takes to survive. With Mattias Temple, the protagonist of Blackthorne, Snyder has given us perhaps his greatest damaged anti-hero yet. When Temple's childhood is ripped violently away from him, he finds himself trained to be a tool of an oppressive paramilitary organization called Blackthorne, where his talent as a necromancer is weaponized. Just wanting to be left in peace, Temple's desperate attempts to escape his fate are futile against the might of Blackthorne. Circumstances beyond his control land him in prison, where it seems he will languish for the rest of his miserable life.
But when members of his former military unit go rogue, Blackthorne needs Temple's specialized skills again. Partnered up with a former antagonist who is more than she seems, Temple is once again weaponized and sent off on a suicide mission. That's when the action gets dialed up from ten to eleven, and the book becomes impossible to put down. [An aside: the witches--I LOVE THEM!!!]
And then the ending. Whoa! I don't want to give anything away, but prepare to be stone-cold stunned!
Blackthorne is an action thriller with emotional depth, but what really sets this book apart is Snyder's creativity in both content and narration. His impressionistic touches would make Monet proud, if Monet were into unconscionable horrors and rage against authoritarian injustice instead of water lilies.
September 21, 2022
Soon, a hundred bodies roared into a hole like blood and pus crossing a wound in flesh. The mechs hammered the walls, shattering them, fire raining from the engines, melting stone and brick like tallow, hardlanders made into flesh candles before collapsing into rendered fat and blackened bone.
This is a tale filled with the horrors that our world has seen before in the jungles of Vietnam and the mountains and deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq. A tale with no hope and only pain. A tale filled with beings full of power more foul than any mortal should claim and more hate than one could manage. This is the story of "Blackthorne".
Others were missing the soft parts of their bodies, the carrion animals come to prey on them. Eyes and tongues missing, noses chewed off. Trousers ripped open, genitals torn free.
Snyder is obviously a very talented "imaginist" and is perhaps perfectly suited to create nightmarish worlds set in the grimdark sub-genre. I'm not sure, however, that his writing can always keep up with what his mind is trying to convey to us mere earthbound mortals. It's like someone taking a masterful rendition of Beethoven's Fifth and re-creating it with hammers against various objects (e.g. sheet metal, old concrete, human skulls, etc.). Sure, you get the general gist of the symphony, but the harmonics obviously don't always line up with your expectations! Yeah, those hammers will definitely leave a mark but your ears will be ringing for a few days, too!
I squeezed the trigger, taking a witch high in the skull. Her eye disappeared, blood and brain blossoming from the back of her skull like a red-grey flower.
True, throughout this book, we see glimpses of extremely smooth-flowing and highly quotable, almost artistically structured prose. And the vocabulary is simply scrumptious in spots, which is always a big plus for me! It is at times both impressive and yet also a tad bit frustrating, particularly if you suffer from the same kind of proof-reading OCD as I do (the words can be beautiful but by the gods they'd better be spelled right! And don't get me started on punctuation hiccups or making sure to follow the rules of grammar!). I only say this as there remain a number of editorial defects that continually distract the reader. But maybe that is to be expected or even accepted in this "no rules genre"? Perhaps. As such, I should just get on with it, eh?
The gods provide, though infrequently and with a great amount of erratic behavior.
In terms of the story, again, it is fantastical to the extreme. Throw out your preconceptions for any blend of fantasy and scifi that you want to conjure (and also cyberpunk and formats of a similar ilk)! I can only underline that some of the combinations and elements we see throughout will leave you dizzy. It's on such a level, in fact, that Snyder's tendency to make sudden changes from one scene - or really from one phase of the protagonist's life - to another are like a punch to the brainpan. It's regularly quite abrupt, even jarringly so, as we rush from the horrors of a tortured childhood to what seems to be Harry Potter on crack to war(s)- and prison-life gone utterly wrong.
Blackthorne had the best medical insurance in the world. And the highest mortality rate. A perverse paradox providing no end of amusement for the rank and file.
Even with all that, there are, well, some quite significant gaps in the story. Things are too often truly disjointed even from one chapter to the next, a fact that is made even more confusing as more and more… varied? events and situations arise. OK, in terms of Nessa being dead or alive… or dead again later, I'll confess I may have just blacked out and missed something. That ending is definitely one to think about. But you won't get any spoilers out of me!
The world is a fucked-up place, and it’s steadily becoming more fucked up. A hell of a premise, I know.
Yet, I'm not even sure about how many wars there are? Temple talks a few times about 'the last war' but have we seen more than one? And why the gushing respect for Colonel Whitcomb? Before he's brought up again by Bridget, he had been mentioned in passing only once and even then it was confusing as to what roll he played? Yet Temple talks about their YEARS of service together? All of this will leave you most definitely befuddled - my chosen word as I don't have enough hair left to keep scratching my head without damage - but if you can get past all that, it's actually quite fun in a really sadistic way! Again though, with the 'everything and the kitchen sink' turn this takes again and again, it gets more than difficult to follow.
Truth was, you could never undo the things you did. Just hope not to repeat them. A right didn’t strike out a wrong.
Ultimately, my rating is based simply on the fact that I believe Snyder can do better than this. If this was all just a massive 'Sting' operation (ref. the 1973 film), then I tip my cap and retract many of my statements about being confused. But I'm still not crazy about the editing (too many instances of things like 'solider' vs. 'soldier', sorry). Either way, I think he's a writer with true and unique potential. It's just a question now of getting over that hump of putting an excellent and amazing story together with the execution to match it!
P.S. I also think he might want to try humor, like, a 'pure' humor novel. The following was copied from the disclaimer(s) at the beginning. Take of that what you will:
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, Michael R Fletcher, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Any resemblance to Dyrk Ashton probably means you’re high. You should have a snack and calm down.
You can probably also use (the book) for toilet paper, if that’s your thing, but I’m not liable for papercuts.
This is a tale filled with the horrors that our world has seen before in the jungles of Vietnam and the mountains and deserts of Afghanistan and Iraq. A tale with no hope and only pain. A tale filled with beings full of power more foul than any mortal should claim and more hate than one could manage. This is the story of "Blackthorne".
Others were missing the soft parts of their bodies, the carrion animals come to prey on them. Eyes and tongues missing, noses chewed off. Trousers ripped open, genitals torn free.
Snyder is obviously a very talented "imaginist" and is perhaps perfectly suited to create nightmarish worlds set in the grimdark sub-genre. I'm not sure, however, that his writing can always keep up with what his mind is trying to convey to us mere earthbound mortals. It's like someone taking a masterful rendition of Beethoven's Fifth and re-creating it with hammers against various objects (e.g. sheet metal, old concrete, human skulls, etc.). Sure, you get the general gist of the symphony, but the harmonics obviously don't always line up with your expectations! Yeah, those hammers will definitely leave a mark but your ears will be ringing for a few days, too!
I squeezed the trigger, taking a witch high in the skull. Her eye disappeared, blood and brain blossoming from the back of her skull like a red-grey flower.
True, throughout this book, we see glimpses of extremely smooth-flowing and highly quotable, almost artistically structured prose. And the vocabulary is simply scrumptious in spots, which is always a big plus for me! It is at times both impressive and yet also a tad bit frustrating, particularly if you suffer from the same kind of proof-reading OCD as I do (the words can be beautiful but by the gods they'd better be spelled right! And don't get me started on punctuation hiccups or making sure to follow the rules of grammar!). I only say this as there remain a number of editorial defects that continually distract the reader. But maybe that is to be expected or even accepted in this "no rules genre"? Perhaps. As such, I should just get on with it, eh?
The gods provide, though infrequently and with a great amount of erratic behavior.
In terms of the story, again, it is fantastical to the extreme. Throw out your preconceptions for any blend of fantasy and scifi that you want to conjure (and also cyberpunk and formats of a similar ilk)! I can only underline that some of the combinations and elements we see throughout will leave you dizzy. It's on such a level, in fact, that Snyder's tendency to make sudden changes from one scene - or really from one phase of the protagonist's life - to another are like a punch to the brainpan. It's regularly quite abrupt, even jarringly so, as we rush from the horrors of a tortured childhood to what seems to be Harry Potter on crack to war(s)- and prison-life gone utterly wrong.
Blackthorne had the best medical insurance in the world. And the highest mortality rate. A perverse paradox providing no end of amusement for the rank and file.
Even with all that, there are, well, some quite significant gaps in the story. Things are too often truly disjointed even from one chapter to the next, a fact that is made even more confusing as more and more… varied? events and situations arise. OK, in terms of Nessa being dead or alive… or dead again later, I'll confess I may have just blacked out and missed something. That ending is definitely one to think about. But you won't get any spoilers out of me!
The world is a fucked-up place, and it’s steadily becoming more fucked up. A hell of a premise, I know.
Yet, I'm not even sure about how many wars there are? Temple talks a few times about 'the last war' but have we seen more than one? And why the gushing respect for Colonel Whitcomb? Before he's brought up again by Bridget, he had been mentioned in passing only once and even then it was confusing as to what roll he played? Yet Temple talks about their YEARS of service together? All of this will leave you most definitely befuddled - my chosen word as I don't have enough hair left to keep scratching my head without damage - but if you can get past all that, it's actually quite fun in a really sadistic way! Again though, with the 'everything and the kitchen sink' turn this takes again and again, it gets more than difficult to follow.
Truth was, you could never undo the things you did. Just hope not to repeat them. A right didn’t strike out a wrong.
Ultimately, my rating is based simply on the fact that I believe Snyder can do better than this. If this was all just a massive 'Sting' operation (ref. the 1973 film), then I tip my cap and retract many of my statements about being confused. But I'm still not crazy about the editing (too many instances of things like 'solider' vs. 'soldier', sorry). Either way, I think he's a writer with true and unique potential. It's just a question now of getting over that hump of putting an excellent and amazing story together with the execution to match it!
P.S. I also think he might want to try humor, like, a 'pure' humor novel. The following was copied from the disclaimer(s) at the beginning. Take of that what you will:
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, Michael R Fletcher, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Any resemblance to Dyrk Ashton probably means you’re high. You should have a snack and calm down.
You can probably also use (the book) for toilet paper, if that’s your thing, but I’m not liable for papercuts.
November 22, 2023
An action-packed adventure that deftly blends science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a hefty dollop of dark humor and high-speed action sequences featuring monsters, gore, and a combination of blades and high-tech weaponry.
Matthias faces a lifetime of trauma that fills him with cynicism and convinces him that a meaningless, dark, dog-eat-dog world has room only for the hardened or the coward – and he is convinced that he is a coward, particularly after the trauma endured during military service, in which he witnesses a horrific war crime (sensitive readers should be warned this book is very intense in such scenes and should tread with caution).
But when Matthias meets someone who kindles hope that he can liberate himself and become a better person, he finds life offering him a chance for redemption, and perhaps revenge.
All I will say is that the entire book builds to some massive twists that put the entire story in a new light, and which are very earned (if you are a writer, you will know exactly how rare and difficult this execution can be). I'm also hoping a certain late bar scene was indeed an homage to a certain desert planet cantina frequented by Harrison Ford...
Snyder excells at unusual turns of phrase, leveraging a formidable vocabulary with a gift for strikingly unique simile and metaphor.
I occasionally struggled to keep some character names clear, along with the timeline in some sequences, but this was minor and I was also dealing with a lot of life stuff whilst reading. I did quite like the execution of most of the ghost, dream, and memory sequences, which grew more fluid as the narrative progressed.
The fight scenes, weapons, tech, violence, monsters, and gore were well-crafted, with some loving homages to Lovecraft and (if I'm not mistaken) several worlds revered by horror and videogame nerds like myself, especially DOOM and HALO (the fate of a political elite in the last quarter reminded me keenly of Captain Keys' own grisly denouement, and the fate of a key ally to Matthias in the end very much reminded me of elements of Cortana and the Chief – but much more maturely executed than most of the rather puerile writing found in many installments in the HALO-verse).
The last words, twists, and fate of that ally were surprisingly moving and genuinely earned, and I give Snyder props for being able to execute such a complex and demanding set of character building tasks and plot variables (all with humor and warmth). I was mad. But in a good way; thr best books, like life itself, have stakes.
My first exposure to "insectile cyberpunk," by the way, and I felt a twinge of jealousy in parts as the dark and brooding atmosphere, with silver hope edging the clouds of mankind's depravity to man, often achieved the flavor I was trying to capture in my first book and early writing.
I also spotted and enjoyed apposite references for lifeling supernerds, including ICE's role in the Necronet (William Gibson's Neuromancer changed my life as a young person), the ghostly Longfellow (I still enjoy some of the poet's work), and many more.
I would be remiss if I didn't share, with no particular order or explanation, some of my favorite lines, as Snyder's gift for wordplay left me underlining and highlighting countless little touches in a way only skilled wordsmiths tend to do (such as King and Koontz, to name two favored fast-paced writers with some similar proclivities of oeuvre).
–"What do you see?" The voice asked as if torturing children was as mundane as a cheese sandwich.
–...and then vanished in a scree of mist.
–I dreamt of a thousand marching feet. Of the dead hammering at the walls of the world.
–Soulride (to possess a person).
–Milton paused at the door, blood rushing to places he wasn't ready for it to rush, and took a breath.
–Bone cats (type of monster).
–Blood and brain blossoming... like a red-grey flower.
–Titan (fantastic monster and scene mid-book).
–Politics is a con, perpetrated by men in expensive suits.
–That's the thing with some men. They're brave behind a rifle, but when it comes to telling the truth, they'll piss themselves in fear. Especially if it means doing the right thing.*
________
*I could share a hundred more, but brevity is the soul, and all that.
P.S. Clayton, thank you for sharing this story. I really think you would dig the weirdness of Dreamshadow, and I hope I can share more of my highlighted bits from Blackthorne with you some day.
Matthias faces a lifetime of trauma that fills him with cynicism and convinces him that a meaningless, dark, dog-eat-dog world has room only for the hardened or the coward – and he is convinced that he is a coward, particularly after the trauma endured during military service, in which he witnesses a horrific war crime (sensitive readers should be warned this book is very intense in such scenes and should tread with caution).
But when Matthias meets someone who kindles hope that he can liberate himself and become a better person, he finds life offering him a chance for redemption, and perhaps revenge.
All I will say is that the entire book builds to some massive twists that put the entire story in a new light, and which are very earned (if you are a writer, you will know exactly how rare and difficult this execution can be). I'm also hoping a certain late bar scene was indeed an homage to a certain desert planet cantina frequented by Harrison Ford...
Snyder excells at unusual turns of phrase, leveraging a formidable vocabulary with a gift for strikingly unique simile and metaphor.
I occasionally struggled to keep some character names clear, along with the timeline in some sequences, but this was minor and I was also dealing with a lot of life stuff whilst reading. I did quite like the execution of most of the ghost, dream, and memory sequences, which grew more fluid as the narrative progressed.
The fight scenes, weapons, tech, violence, monsters, and gore were well-crafted, with some loving homages to Lovecraft and (if I'm not mistaken) several worlds revered by horror and videogame nerds like myself, especially DOOM and HALO (the fate of a political elite in the last quarter reminded me keenly of Captain Keys' own grisly denouement, and the fate of a key ally to Matthias in the end very much reminded me of elements of Cortana and the Chief – but much more maturely executed than most of the rather puerile writing found in many installments in the HALO-verse).
The last words, twists, and fate of that ally were surprisingly moving and genuinely earned, and I give Snyder props for being able to execute such a complex and demanding set of character building tasks and plot variables (all with humor and warmth). I was mad. But in a good way; thr best books, like life itself, have stakes.
My first exposure to "insectile cyberpunk," by the way, and I felt a twinge of jealousy in parts as the dark and brooding atmosphere, with silver hope edging the clouds of mankind's depravity to man, often achieved the flavor I was trying to capture in my first book and early writing.
I also spotted and enjoyed apposite references for lifeling supernerds, including ICE's role in the Necronet (William Gibson's Neuromancer changed my life as a young person), the ghostly Longfellow (I still enjoy some of the poet's work), and many more.
I would be remiss if I didn't share, with no particular order or explanation, some of my favorite lines, as Snyder's gift for wordplay left me underlining and highlighting countless little touches in a way only skilled wordsmiths tend to do (such as King and Koontz, to name two favored fast-paced writers with some similar proclivities of oeuvre).
–"What do you see?" The voice asked as if torturing children was as mundane as a cheese sandwich.
–...and then vanished in a scree of mist.
–I dreamt of a thousand marching feet. Of the dead hammering at the walls of the world.
–Soulride (to possess a person).
–Milton paused at the door, blood rushing to places he wasn't ready for it to rush, and took a breath.
–Bone cats (type of monster).
–Blood and brain blossoming... like a red-grey flower.
–Titan (fantastic monster and scene mid-book).
–Politics is a con, perpetrated by men in expensive suits.
–That's the thing with some men. They're brave behind a rifle, but when it comes to telling the truth, they'll piss themselves in fear. Especially if it means doing the right thing.*
________
*I could share a hundred more, but brevity is the soul, and all that.
P.S. Clayton, thank you for sharing this story. I really think you would dig the weirdness of Dreamshadow, and I hope I can share more of my highlighted bits from Blackthorne with you some day.
March 16, 2023
Miscela di fantascienza militare, cyberpunk, biopunk e thriller d'azione con elementi dark fantasy, Blackthorne - inedito in lingua italiana - è il racconto in prima persona di Mattias Temple, orfano della madre e di un padre violento che lui stesso ha ucciso con le proprie mani. Dotato del raro talento di vedere i morti, viene reclutato e addestrato dalla più potente compagnia mercenaria delle freehold, città-stato in guerra permanente con gli hardlander.
Il mondo descritto da Snyder con un'attenzione forse esagerata a evitare passaggi espositivi è caratterizzato dalla manipolazione genetica di creature insettoidi coesistente con una magia d'evocazione di entità provenienti da altri piani dimensionali. A questa ricetta, già assai ricca di ingredienti non sempre distinguibili al gusto, Snyder aggiunge un tocco cyberpunk con reti informatiche, innesti neurali e contromisure elettroniche di gibsoniana memoria.
Blackthorne riesce a intrattenere ma lascia un senso di incompiuta approssimazione per diversi aspetti: dopo un inizio coinvolgente per intensità e crudezza e molto evocativo, la storia è un susseguirsi di addestramenti, missioni militari e continui tentativi del protagonista di affrancarsi dagli intrighi politici di cui è pedina a causa della spesso ribadita (ma mai davvero chiara per almeno due terzi del romanzo) utilità tattico-militare di necromante.
Le scene belliche, che nel finale si succedono senza sosta, mancano di profondità di campo e immersività e in più di un'occasione il protagonista sembra riuscire superare le situazioni più difficili perchè guidato dalla trama, a sua volta costellata di personaggi secondari appena abbozzati (con una sola eccezione, a mio parere), e segnata da due svolte narrative che risultano goffe e posticce. Forse troppa in questo romanzo, di cui la mia personale valutazione non è purtroppo sufficiente, l'ambizione di un autore comunque dotato di notevole capacità immaginifica.
Recensione completa: https://lestorieeimondi.wordpress.com...
Il mondo descritto da Snyder con un'attenzione forse esagerata a evitare passaggi espositivi è caratterizzato dalla manipolazione genetica di creature insettoidi coesistente con una magia d'evocazione di entità provenienti da altri piani dimensionali. A questa ricetta, già assai ricca di ingredienti non sempre distinguibili al gusto, Snyder aggiunge un tocco cyberpunk con reti informatiche, innesti neurali e contromisure elettroniche di gibsoniana memoria.
Blackthorne riesce a intrattenere ma lascia un senso di incompiuta approssimazione per diversi aspetti: dopo un inizio coinvolgente per intensità e crudezza e molto evocativo, la storia è un susseguirsi di addestramenti, missioni militari e continui tentativi del protagonista di affrancarsi dagli intrighi politici di cui è pedina a causa della spesso ribadita (ma mai davvero chiara per almeno due terzi del romanzo) utilità tattico-militare di necromante.
Le scene belliche, che nel finale si succedono senza sosta, mancano di profondità di campo e immersività e in più di un'occasione il protagonista sembra riuscire superare le situazioni più difficili perchè guidato dalla trama, a sua volta costellata di personaggi secondari appena abbozzati (con una sola eccezione, a mio parere), e segnata da due svolte narrative che risultano goffe e posticce. Forse troppa in questo romanzo, di cui la mia personale valutazione non è purtroppo sufficiente, l'ambizione di un autore comunque dotato di notevole capacità immaginifica.
Recensione completa: https://lestorieeimondi.wordpress.com...
July 31, 2023
This would have been 3.5 stars but it went silly in the last third.
There’s lots of good ideas in this story, insect style armour, necromancers, witches, demons etc and it’s all thrown together and not really explained, but it’s fun to go along for the ride.
The story doesn’t seem to know where it wants to go or what it wants to say, seemingly changing course several times in the first half.
But then the sillyness comes, syringes full of a mysterious substance that just happens to be a miracle cure for serious injuries lying around. A sword just lying around so our main character can take down a fearsome beast etc etc.
Then there’s all the life changing injuries our main character sustains that he is just able to shrug off.
In the end, I was skim reading the final 50 pages as I’d checked out and was no longer engaged in the story.
It’s a shame, as the author has talent, lots of good ideas, a good sense of dark humour and isn’t afraid to drop a good curse ridden insult into his story.
Oh, and don’t read the synopsis as otherwise it spoils the entire plot of the book.
There’s lots of good ideas in this story, insect style armour, necromancers, witches, demons etc and it’s all thrown together and not really explained, but it’s fun to go along for the ride.
The story doesn’t seem to know where it wants to go or what it wants to say, seemingly changing course several times in the first half.
But then the sillyness comes, syringes full of a mysterious substance that just happens to be a miracle cure for serious injuries lying around. A sword just lying around so our main character can take down a fearsome beast etc etc.
Then there’s all the life changing injuries our main character sustains that he is just able to shrug off.
In the end, I was skim reading the final 50 pages as I’d checked out and was no longer engaged in the story.
It’s a shame, as the author has talent, lots of good ideas, a good sense of dark humour and isn’t afraid to drop a good curse ridden insult into his story.
Oh, and don’t read the synopsis as otherwise it spoils the entire plot of the book.
February 26, 2023
I'm giving up at the 80% complete mark. Not sure I've ever done that before. It started very strong but this book was plagued with some problems that amplified the further you got. Initially it was interesting enough to keep me turning pages. The world was very interesting, even fascinating, but was never fully fleshed out and ultimately didn't make a ton of sense. The protagonist had an interesting beginning but never made much of himself IMO so his story arc was a flat line. Most frustrating, the whole story felt jerky and disconnected as if whole swathes of material was elided. I do feel as if this book could have been really good, but it needs a good editor to help guide the author into fleshing out the story so it is more coherent and seamless.
October 6, 2022
Totally unique
Blackthorne is an awesome mix of sci fantasy, thriller, Jack Reacher, and cyberpunk. It has horrific creatures and lots of guns.
This book is surprisingly quotable, and is a lot of fun.
It is very much divided into 3 time-frames which all have a distinct vibe to them. It was a bit jarring to jump between them and I could have done with much more of the last focus, as it was the most enjoyable for me.
If you are looking for a unique sci fantasy, then this is definitely for you!
Hope there is a book 2 because I could definitely use some more Mattias snark.
Blackthorne is an awesome mix of sci fantasy, thriller, Jack Reacher, and cyberpunk. It has horrific creatures and lots of guns.
This book is surprisingly quotable, and is a lot of fun.
It is very much divided into 3 time-frames which all have a distinct vibe to them. It was a bit jarring to jump between them and I could have done with much more of the last focus, as it was the most enjoyable for me.
If you are looking for a unique sci fantasy, then this is definitely for you!
Hope there is a book 2 because I could definitely use some more Mattias snark.
June 25, 2024
Blackthorne is a fantasy/cyberpunk hybrid filled with monsters, spirits, bloodshed, grief, and redemption. I picked this book up off Amazon after I'd read a couple of co-authored books of Snyder's he did with dark fantasy author, Michael R. Fletcher. I had also read Snyder's book, Cold West, a SPFBO 9 Finalist. So, I knew what I was getting myself into, and Blackthorne did not disappoint in the slightest.
If you are interested in the following... military science fiction, cyberpunk, beasts, witchcraft, necromancy, and a morally grey protagonist, then this story is for you.
If you are interested in the following... military science fiction, cyberpunk, beasts, witchcraft, necromancy, and a morally grey protagonist, then this story is for you.
August 25, 2023
While the story was interesting and fast paced, it jumped around with no real continent flow. The action sequences were well paced and very graphic, for those not inclined to violent action, you have been warned. The necronet was interesting, but not as well done as in the Matrix. I would still recommend this. Final rating 4.2
September 23, 2022
This review is a little late, sorry.
I was lucky enough to beta this one and while I need to read the final product, I can tell you that Clayton brought the action packed goods in this one. It reads fast like a novella, but it isn't. I look forward to future books in this setting.
I was lucky enough to beta this one and while I need to read the final product, I can tell you that Clayton brought the action packed goods in this one. It reads fast like a novella, but it isn't. I look forward to future books in this setting.
September 17, 2022
What's not love when you read a book with Witches, Necromancers, Cannibals and things with tentacles - loved this book.
October 18, 2022
Cyberpunk/necromancy/action movie
Main character is a dick. But he's a relatable dick. Story is fast paced and movie like in its visuals. Nick Cage is born to play the lead.
Main character is a dick. But he's a relatable dick. Story is fast paced and movie like in its visuals. Nick Cage is born to play the lead.
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