Tom's Blog

FYI, when I review a book here I probably bought the book myself.  Rarely does anyone try giving me books as gifts anymore since I have so many I probably already have it.

A must read book.  The story is set in a world that has an Victorian feel with gas street lamps, horse drawn carriages and flush toilets are new.  It’s the story of two men, William Harker an Inquisitor for the Church and Belimai Sykes a Prodigal a descendant of demons who somehow were freed from hell and absolved.  There are two stories in the book, the first told by Belimai who is hired by Harker to help find his abducted sister while in the background Jack the Ripper style murders of Prodigals are going on.  The second is told by Harker and picks up after solving the mystery of his sister’s abduction and the murders.  While the main characters are gay and the story deals with the developing relationship between them, Ginn doesn’t have the characters wallowing in sex.  In fact the characters are so beaten up by their adventures they don’t have the time or stamina for much sex, they are just trying to survive.

This I believe is Ginn Hale’s first novel and it won the 2008 Spectrum Award and definitely deserves it.  My main complaint is that it is to short.  I can easily see it setting the foundation for future books either set in that world or revisiting the main characters in past or future adventures.  I can also see Ginn Hale achieving mainstream popularity someday.  Since the book is published by a small press you’re probably not going to see it in the local bookstore, however it is available online either from Amazon or the publisher Blind Eye Books.