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BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Debbie Wiley Book Reviews
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For Blood or Money
by Benjamin Reynolds
All
they had to do was find the temple on Kafiristar and the 20 million in
fire diamonds would be theirs….
Septimus “Sep” Zyke has a plan to make a lot of money for both himself
and his good friend, Finyan “Fin” Mantillas. While incarcerated,
Septimus learned about where slave trader Baby Ting-Ting hid the last
load he had to ditch. The sum of 20 million fire diamonds is more than
enough for them to take a chance- even if they have to travel to the
very edges of Coalition Space to find it. After all, if they succeed,
they’ll never have to scrounge for money again. But what will this
journey cost them both?
Benjamin Reynolds writes a powerful science fiction story that is even
more compelling upon rereading it. It’s easy in a first reading of the
story to get caught up in the misery of the characters and to lose
sight of the strong message the tale reveals as Benjamin Reynolds
paints his characters quite well. We feel Finyan’s anguish over the
deaths he has seen and continues to see. The descent into delirium and
perhaps madness of the characters is quite vividly portrayed and yet
Mr. Reynolds shows us the very humanity, the kindness of the characters
that struggles to survive even as the horrors mount. It is this message
that is even more powerful, more stunning that the brilliance displayed
through the clever twists in the storyline.
FOR BLOOD OR MONEY is a dramatic tale displaying the depths to which
men will sink when greed is the goal. The world building and character
development are phenomenal, particularly considering the short length
of the story. However, the true beauty of it all is in the simplicity
that underlies it all… the struggle of two friends battling against all
others even as their very worldviews differ completely. Bravo!
Publisher: Damnation Books (September 2010)
Author
website
Reviewed
by Debbie, Debbie Wiley Book Reviews
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