Quincy J. Allen

I found this Blood Ties on my recent trip to Salt Lake City Comic Con. I also got to meet the author a self-described author of crossing genres and I am I so glad I picked this book up. I really like the main character Jake, He a bad ass gunslinger who does not take any crap but knows when he is beaten. Plus there's also Cole who I absolutely adore and Skeeter a young girl who is a genius when it comes to technology.

First of all, this book does not try to be something it's not. By that I mean it is first and foremost a Western with Steampunk technology, it then throws in elements of fantasy and supernatural. This is done in a very balancing way, the book is not so convoluted that I felt Allen did not know what the hell he was doing. In fact, he very much knows what he is doing because he does it well.

Second of all, this is very much a setup book. Considering it is supposed to a six-book series, it is going to need to set up a world that seems like it is going to be epic. Despite this, the story still flows incredibly well. There were no long drawn out explanations that hurt my head, no rushed backstory on all the characters, and no long talks where the characters keep repeating things over and over so you would remember.

Thirdly, Allen does great action scenes. I can sometimes get lost in an action scene because well frankly there is just so much going on that I have to reread it a couple of times. Surprisingly, I had no trouble at all with keeping up with Allen's descriptions. While still fast-paced and very detailed, I was able to fully imagine everything the first time around.

Finally, even though Allen is male, Jake is male and Cole is male, there was no shortage of bad ass women. This is incredibly important to me, as sometimes male authors get lost in the physical of a female character that they tend to forget to add more characterization and they fall flat. I wasn't cringing when a new female character was introduced because Jake didn't focus on her ample bosom, the way she smelled or the softness of her skin. While yes there are a couple of those moments it was not out of context or demeaning (I'm thinking of a certain popular author...).

You must be wondering why only 4 stars and not 5. This is just for the simple fact that it's the first book. Like I said before that Blood Ties had to set up the world, so the story couldn't fully take root like the coming books will be. I have the second book Blood Curse which I will be reading, when I am not sure, but hopefully soon… (mehr)

I found this Blood Ties on my recent trip to Salt Lake City Comic Con. I also got to meet the author a self-described author of crossing genres and I am I so glad I picked this book up. I really like the main character Jake, He a bad ass gunslinger who does not take any crap but knows when he is beaten. Plus there's also Cole who I absolutely adore and Skeeter a young girl who is a genius when it comes to technology.

First of all, this book does not try to be something it's not. By that I mean it is first and foremost a Western with Steampunk technology, it then throws in elements of fantasy and supernatural. This is done in a very balancing way, the book is not so convoluted that I felt Allen did not know what the hell he was doing. In fact, he very much knows what he is doing because he does it well.

Second of all, this is very much a setup book. Considering it is supposed to a six-book series, it is going to need to set up a world that seems like it is going to be epic. Despite this, the story still flows incredibly well. There were no long drawn out explanations that hurt my head, no rushed backstory on all the characters, and no long talks where the characters keep repeating things over and over so you would remember.

Thirdly, Allen does great action scenes. I can sometimes get lost in an action scene because well frankly there is just so much going on that I have to reread it a couple of times. Surprisingly, I had no trouble at all with keeping up with Allen's descriptions. While still fast-paced and very detailed, I was able to fully imagine everything the first time around.

Finally, even though Allen is male, Jake is male and Cole is male, there was no shortage of bad ass women. This is incredibly important to me, as sometimes male authors get lost in the physical of a female character that they tend to forget to add more characterization and they fall flat. I wasn't cringing when a new female character was introduced because Jake didn't focus on her ample bosom, the way she smelled or the softness of her skin. While yes there are a couple of those moments it was not out of context or demeaning (I'm thinking of a certain popular author...).

You must be wondering why only 4 stars and not 5. This is just for the simple fact that it's the first book. Like I said before that Blood Ties had to set up the world, so the story couldn't fully take root like the coming books will be. I have the second book Blood Curse which I will be reading, when I am not sure, but hopefully soon… (mehr)

A solid steampunk adventure story with all the elements you might expect: zeppelins, clockwork people, top hats, and mysterious energy weapons. Blood ties is set in the 'wild west' where the high technology of steam punk co-exists with gamblers, cowboys and gun-slingers.

I found the dialog overly wordy - it seemed that every time a character departed was like reading a transcript of teenage lovers about to hang up the phone. The main character was pretty well defined, and had a back story that often jumped off the page to hit me around the head. The other characters were clichés, from the feisty, smart, orphan girl to the wise, oriental, grandfatherly gang leader.

A great book to read if you're looking at a well formed steampunk novel that stays within the boundaries of the genre. Good action, some mystery, and plenty of cogs and gears.… (mehr)