City of Rogues Review By Jesse Dedman When you think of Deadman’s Tome things of terror probably come to mind, horrific entities threatening the sanity of the unfortunate few that dared to venture, unworldly fiends savagely attacking mortals for vengeful rights, and women offered as ritualistic sacrifices to please an unforgiving God in an effort to delay the inevitable. These traits imbued concepts that, if done in an unrelenting fashion, can run rampant on one’s interpretation, thus rendering emotion vulnerable to all sorts of wicked devices at the author’s discretion. Yet, these traits do not necessarily belong to any one genre of writing, rather the genre, in many ways, is simply a label to quickly describe the collected characters and events and how they are to effect one’s emotions. Deadman’s Tome has positioned itself as an online magazine that centers around horror, and while that is true on many levels, we placed the quality of a story above the genre that it meets. With that said, we proudly present a quick review of The City of Rogues, a Ty Johnston novel.
Though a work of fantasy, City of Rogues features a well-developed cast placed into situations that pull on the reader’s emotions, pushing him or her to fear for the wellbeing and safety, while hoping for victory for the champions. The City of Rogues is available at Amazon.com in Kindle format. |
The story does not hesitate to unfold from the very beginning, and pulls absolutely no punches. Each line is placed with intention and importance (which is something I wish I could say for other writers), and when the seldom deviation does occur it doesn’t leave the reader bored. Ty introduces us into a world plagued with tension, murder, revenge, and bribery, and does a fantastic job emphasizing how fast the darkness could fall. The first chapter, for example, illustrates the frailness of safety in a world ripe with conflict as Trelvigor, a mage, slays an intruder only to discover it was a minor distraction. Kron Darkbow, lured by the taste of revenge, pays a visit to the man responsible for the destruction of those he loved only to discover an alarming truth. That Trelvigor was merely a pawn, a wizard on Belgad the Liar’s payroll, a barbarian chieftain who rules with mob-like tactics. As the story continues, the lies travel deeper into a well of deceit that Darkbow is eager to punch through. Furious, Belgad tries everything in his power to trump this pesky intruder, terrorizing his own people, utilizing fear as a weapon, while tapping into retired recruits in desperation. Darkbow, though skilled beyond that of most knights, will face a test that, in the beginning, appeared all too easy.