Review of The Devil Pulls the Strings
Posted: 08 Jan 2023, 11:23
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Devil Pulls the Strings" by J. W. Zarek.]
The Devil Pulls the Strings by J. W. Zarek
This novel follows the journey of Boone Daniels, a renaissance knight/musician with a gift for visiting the past in his dreams and a spectral creature haunting his steps. Due to a jousting accident, he is forced to substitute for his friend in a band performance in New York city. While there, he meets his love interest, Sapphire Anjou, and is whisked into a series of magical forays on behalf of the mysterious Lavender and Roses society to recover the missing sheet music of the great composer Paganini, which are said to grant a wish when they are ritually combined. He faces his past, and meets many mythical creatures, some with a desire to help, and others that must be fought. He overcomes these challenges and saves New York city from destruction by a dark entity bent on revenge.
Pros and cons:
I particularly enjoyed the blending of myth and folklore from many different cultures (Slavic, Native American, Germanic) and the inclusion of secret societies functioning in the shadows for millennia. I found the story line to be creative and original. The author seems to take joy in classical music, and it is shown through his enthusiastic and passionate writing style in regard to these compositions. I also like that the story has series potential, and I would be happy to read a continuation of this book, especially if it focuses on the same characters.
I did, however, find some aspects of the story to be a bit lazy, such as the main characters name, Boone Daniels (pretty much just Daniel Boone in reverse), and a reference to an address of a secret society at 177 1/2 so-and-so street, rather like the location of the portal used by a certain scarred British wizard in popular fiction. Some of the characters accents and speech patterns were inconsistent and the slang words used were a bit dated and clichéd. I also noticed a number of grammatical errors, and generally unrealistic dialogue that took away from an otherwise enjoyable read.
Overall, due to the mentioned errors and dialogue issues, I give this book a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
I reccomend this book for adults ages 18-35, and suspect it would be appreciated most by those with an interest in music, fantasy, and dark fiction. Due to its small use of profanity and virtually non-existent sexual content I also recommend it for young adults ages 14-18.
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The Devil Pulls the Strings
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Devil Pulls the Strings by J. W. Zarek
This novel follows the journey of Boone Daniels, a renaissance knight/musician with a gift for visiting the past in his dreams and a spectral creature haunting his steps. Due to a jousting accident, he is forced to substitute for his friend in a band performance in New York city. While there, he meets his love interest, Sapphire Anjou, and is whisked into a series of magical forays on behalf of the mysterious Lavender and Roses society to recover the missing sheet music of the great composer Paganini, which are said to grant a wish when they are ritually combined. He faces his past, and meets many mythical creatures, some with a desire to help, and others that must be fought. He overcomes these challenges and saves New York city from destruction by a dark entity bent on revenge.
Pros and cons:
I particularly enjoyed the blending of myth and folklore from many different cultures (Slavic, Native American, Germanic) and the inclusion of secret societies functioning in the shadows for millennia. I found the story line to be creative and original. The author seems to take joy in classical music, and it is shown through his enthusiastic and passionate writing style in regard to these compositions. I also like that the story has series potential, and I would be happy to read a continuation of this book, especially if it focuses on the same characters.
I did, however, find some aspects of the story to be a bit lazy, such as the main characters name, Boone Daniels (pretty much just Daniel Boone in reverse), and a reference to an address of a secret society at 177 1/2 so-and-so street, rather like the location of the portal used by a certain scarred British wizard in popular fiction. Some of the characters accents and speech patterns were inconsistent and the slang words used were a bit dated and clichéd. I also noticed a number of grammatical errors, and generally unrealistic dialogue that took away from an otherwise enjoyable read.
Overall, due to the mentioned errors and dialogue issues, I give this book a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
I reccomend this book for adults ages 18-35, and suspect it would be appreciated most by those with an interest in music, fantasy, and dark fiction. Due to its small use of profanity and virtually non-existent sexual content I also recommend it for young adults ages 14-18.
******
The Devil Pulls the Strings
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon