Hey everyone!
I'm delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for James Bennett's debut novel Chasing Embers from Orbit Books. Check out my review below, and be sure to hit up the other sites mentioned below. Chasing Embers really is a wonderful read, and I can't wait to see what else happens in the great universe Bennett has masterfully constructed!
Chasing Embers caught my eye from the moment it landed at the front door. Killer cover art, and a premise that had me biting at the bit to get stuck in. So I made myself a coffee, opened the cover, and from that very first page I was hooked.
So what did I love about it? A hell of a lot. Chasing Embers is a fast moving, yet detailed and layered fantasy that provides plenty of thrills as you read it. There are loads of creepy monsters and magical creatures to enjoy, and a rich mythology to explore. Bennett keeps the story motoring along at a rapid pace by breaking up the world building with what are arguably some of the finest action sequences I've read in recent years. Seriously, they will leave your pulse racing. What makes this book even more wonderful are it's characters. Ben is a wonderful protagonist who reminded me a lot of Atticus (from Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid series). They both share an interesting sense of angst and similar philosophical attitudes that stems from their long lives. Ben's relationship with Rose was also fascinating and at times hilarious, and I really enjoyed the dysfunctional to and fro between them throughout the book.
Oh did I mention there's a big bloody dragon in this book? Yeah. Enough said.
Chasing Embers is a fine work of urban fantasy. It has something in it for everyone to love. Romance? Check. Action that will leave you breathless? Check. Rich and detailed world building and monsters and magic that will delight and terrify you? Yeah, it has that too.
I could go on and on about this book, but I won't. Go out and buy it if you dig urban fantasy, or just speculative fiction in general. I guarantee you won't regret it.
4 out of 5 stars.
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Blurb:
For fans of Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher comes a fabulously fun and fast-paced new contemporary fantasy series about a world of myth and legend that’s about to break loose . . .
Behind every myth there is a spark of truth . . .
There's nothing special about Ben Garston. He’s just a guy with an attitude in a beaten-up leather jacket, drowning his sorrows about his ex in a local bar.
Or so he’d have you believe.
What Ben Garston can’t let you know is that he’s also known as Red Ben. He can’t let you know that the world of myth and legend isn’t as make-believe as you think, and it’s his job to keep that a secret. And there’s no way he can let you know what’s really hiding beneath his skin . . .
But not even Ben knows what kind of hell is about to break loose. Because the delicate balance between his world and ours is about to be shattered.
Something's been hiding in the heart of the city – and it’s about to be unleashed.
About the author:
James Bennett is a British writer born in Loughborough and raised in Sussex, South Africa and Cornwall.
His travels have furnished him with an abiding love of different cultures, history and mythology. He’s had several short stories published internationally and Chasing Embers is his debut fantasy novel. James currently lives in west Wales and draws inspiration from long walks, deep forests and old stones . . . and also the odd bottle of wine.
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