Featured Review: The Lost Identity Casualties by Kim Ekemar

[barb429]

Nice review, it sounds like an interesting book to pick up. As others have mentioned, I appreciate that it is not too difficult to keep up with the rather large cast of characters. I often find when reading that if there are too many characters I get a little confused as to who is who. It is always nice to see so many characters with different personality traits.

[Scott]

@CataclysmicKnight I just finished this book minutes ago. I am shocked at how spot on your review was in relation to my own feelings. I'll have to keep a closer eye on recommendations coming from your reviews.

For me, this would be a perfect 4/4 book if it wasn't for the typos. Despite that, though I'm left eager to continue reading the series, just like you. That in itself is an impressive feat for an author to achieve while still writing a satisfying ending and a standalone first book. So I must applaud the author of this book, Kim Ekemar, and managing to combine those hard-to-combine elements. I look forward to the rest of the series.

[fallenechoes]

Good review. From the sounds of this, it is a book and a series I shouldn't miss! I'll be checking it out!

[CataclysmicKnight]

@CataclysmicKnight I just finished this book minutes ago. I am shocked at how spot on your review was in relation to my own feelings. I'll have to keep a closer eye on recommendations coming from your reviews.

For me, this would be a perfect 4/4 book if it wasn't for the typos. Despite that, though I'm left eager to continue reading the series, just like you. That in itself is an impressive feat for an author to achieve while still writing a satisfying ending and a standalone first book. So I must applaud the author of this book, Kim Ekemar, and managing to combine those hard-to-combine elements. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Whoa! Those are some mighty kind words, thanks a lot! Really glad to hear from someone who has read a book I reviewed that my review was spot on! Definitely makes me feel better as a reviewer.

Also, I totally agree. When time passes with movies and books I'm AWFUL about remembering details, but I remember whether I liked something or not, and I definitely remembered liking this. Books with a solid ending that exist in a series are WAY too few and far-between.

[kimekemar]

For me, this would be a perfect 4/4 book if it wasn't for the typos. Despite that, though I'm left eager to continue reading the series, just like you. That in itself is an impressive feat for an author to achieve while still writing a satisfying ending and a standalone first book. So I must applaud the author of this book, Kim Ekemar, and managing to combine those hard-to-combine elements. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Scott,

I very much appreciate your favorable impression of the first book in The Callaghan Tetralogy. However I strongly disagree with you on one major point.

On several occasions I've noticed that American readers perceive British English spelling as "typos". (In an earlier reply that I posted, I pointed this out to the reviewer, but he chose not to comment.) This raises a fundamental question that perhaps should be discussed in a separate forum: is it necessary to make different editions for the British, American, Australian, etc. readers?

This is what I wrote to the reviewer on March 23rd:

"There were typos every few pages or so." This is simply not correct. A professional editor went over the manuscript with strict instructions that all British expressions and spellings should remain in place. (Colour vs. color, travelling vs. traveling, recognise vs. recognize, favourable vs. favorable, etc.) Although I understand that an American reader like yourself may find this "distracting", the use of British English is nevertheless logical considering that the main setting is the UK, the protagonist is British, as are many of the main characters.

I do appreciate your feedback on this important issue.

All the best,

Kim Ekemar

[gali]

I finished the book a couple of days ago and agree with you. I liked the book overall, but will leave the discussions on it to the BOTM. Although there were many characters, it didn't confuse me at all. Great review!

Oh, and congratulations to the author for getting a good review!

[Bebe1969]

I can't wait to read..sounds intriguing! Nice review!

[ashnance]

Awesome review!! I appreciate your thoroughness. Amazing that there is a list of characters in the beginning - I wish every author would consider doing that! Especially when you're reading on and Kindle, it's too hard to flip back and figure out who folks are if you forget. This certainly sounds like an interesting read - one that I'll likely add to my list!

[Silvermoon]

This is a wonderful review! It was very informative and interesting. Great job!

[elanger333]

The book sounds like something I would be interested in reading. I like when stories open up and the characters are confused of their surroundings. I really enjoy mostly all genres, but the one factor that is important is if the characters catch me. I will definitely have to look to see if our library has it in stock. Thank you for the wonderful review!

[TrishaAnn92]

Wonderfully written review, Cataclysmic Knight! Bought a copy and really enjoying how the reader is sucked in from the first page.

[Marni_]

Wow, what a detailed review! I understand how you can struggle to remember all the characters' names and backstories; I sometimes struggle myself. I think that a writer that can create many characters and still keep track of them all deserves a medal. Thank you for sharing.

[bookerang]

I just finished this novel and I’m amazed how this author has managed to tie together all story threads, both in a coherent way and with surprising twists. I haven’t read anything by him before, but I can’t wait to start on the second book in the series! Although the main story is about a terrible loss of identity due to the indifference, cruelty and greed of others, I also found other real-world present-day themes included: the trafficking of vulnerable people, Internet scams, illegal immigration, syndicated crime activities and much more. But, most importantly, it’s a psychological portrait of someone who loses his face, his identity and his life. I think his reactions to his fate are very human ones (depression, anger, bitterness, calls for revenge), and he deals with his identity crisis in an intelligent (albeit sometimes morally reprehensible) way as he demands an eye for an eye, etc. (To avoid any spoiler, it will suffice here to mention that his personality changes considerably in the process, which is what makes his character so interesting.)
As a side comment I found the dialogues between Callaghan and his father, and with the gangster Flint, quite witty. The Lost Identity Casualties is a fast-paced, clever novel that kept my lamp burning well past midnight!

[abhishek7081]

I’m startled how this author has managed to tie together all story threads, both in a coherent way and with surprising twists. I haven’t read anything written by him before, but I can’t wait to start on the second book in the series! Although the main story is about a terrible identity loss due to the indifference, cruelty and greed of others, I also found other real-world present-day themes included: the trafficking of vulnerable people, Internet scams, illegal immigration, syndicated crime activities and much more. But, most importantly, it’s a psychological portrait of someone who loses his face, his identity and his life (something very scary to think about in a shot). I think his reactions to his fate are very human ones (depression, anger, bitterness, calls for revenge), and he deals with his identity crisis in an intelligent (albeit sometimes morally reprehensible) way as he demands an eye for an eye, etc. (To avoid any spoiler, it will suffice here to mention that his personality changes considerably in the process, which is what makes his character so interesting.)
At the beginning there’s a note that “the spelling is British English”. As an American I had to adjust to what could be perceived as errors, but it wasn’t too hard to get used to it.
As a side comment I found the dialogues between Callaghan and his father, and also with the gangster Flint, quite witty. The Lost Identity Casualties is a fast-paced, clever novel that kept my lamp burning well beyond midnight!

[jamesokunmd]

Very nice review. Sounds like an interesting read!