I'd been waiting with more than a little trepidation for the Kirkus review of Beneath the Veil to be released and when it did I had a hard time opening it.
It took the less than subtle coaxing of a colleague of mine to convince me to just read the damned thing and I'm glad for it. The review was good. A highly respected review in the positive realm has been one of the things I've waited for to begin pushing to have the novel placed in libraries and more brick and mortar book stores, so you can imagine the stress.
Take a look at what they had to say
"This intriguing tale of mythological beings introduces what promises to be an exhilarating saga."
"Kearns deftly introduces an epic and avoids cramming this engaging series opener with characters and plot. David’s odyssey, for example, consists of a relatively quiet hike with Jacob, and his time in Valhalla zeroes in on only the few warriors he befriends. Similarly, the author keeps the real-world action primarily in New York and, despite hordes of murderous beasts, ensures that one memorable, scheming baddie stands out. The narrative aptly fuses mythologies. Alongside Norse myths, there are Islamic jinns (spirits) as well as the ferocious, water-dwelling bunyip of Australian Aboriginal folklore. Theologies, too, share the spotlight. Jacob describes earthly religions as alternative versions of the same story. While the varied beliefs spark copious scenes of characters explaining things (courtesy of Jacob or a demonologist friend of Chelsea’s), action intermittently bursts in New York and Valhalla. These kinetic sequences feature Kearns’ tightly paced battles and training episodes: “Without thinking, David flipped his weapon to the other hand, stepped back from the snare of the spearhead, and ran down the length of its shaft. The pikeman’s head rolled through the sand before David could take the measure of his own actions.” Valhalla boasts a diverse batch of warriors, including a katana-wielding samurai and a Russian soldier who was killed by a Nazi sniper. Throughout the story, David questions why he’s in this ostensible purgatory, and the novel’s ambiguity may confuse readers as much as it does the hero. But the frenzied final act hints at David’s purpose and makes it clear where the sequel is headed." -Kirkus Reviews
Cheers and take a look at the other two other recent reviews of Beneath The Veil.
...If the mood strikes, and you're heading over to ReedsyDiscovery to read the review, take a second to up vote the review.
A gorgeous novel that boasts elegant word choice and a fast-moving plot that you won't want to miss! -Ashley Nester
Mythology is my jam, and I look for novels with mythological themes. Beneath the Veil had everything I love in a novel. It had Norse mythology, religious heroes, supernatural elements that were actually believable, and a hero who grabbed my attention from the very first line. - Rabia Taveer
Comments