Thursday, July 12, 2018

The City Stained Red

The City Stained Red (Bring Down Heaven, #1)The City Stained Red by Sam Sykes
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Lenk and his crew were hired to fight for a priest named Miron Evenhands. When the time comes for them to collect their pay, Miron vanishes. In their attempt to find the priest and get their money, Lenk and his crew encounter more than they bargained for.

The City Stained Red literally revolves around Lenk's crew not getting paid. While not getting paid for your work would be devastating for a normal person it seems far too dull a reason for the characters to wade into conflict. When the fighting begins and the dying follows it seems like the right time for the crew to cut their losses, but they simply double down.

In the books defense I didn't know that the Aeons' Gate trilogy revolved around Lenk and his crew. If I knew that I would have never attempted to read The City Stained Red first. There is so much backstory and world building that the reader should already know. The characters clearly have history with one another and picking up from this book is an inadequate way to get to know them.

The City Stained Red really couldn't keep my attention, but perhaps I'll try it again after reading the Aeons' Gate trilogy.

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