Location: United States
Member Since:
Oct. 18, 2010
Jen Erickson
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Smashwords book reviews by Jen Erickson
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Fixing Mr. Styx (The Grim Arcana #3)
on Oct. 18, 2010
No one turns a phrase quite like Geoffrey Thorne. I'm betting he was the kid with the flashlight under his chin telling chilling tales with a twist when he was a kid. Much like the shady characters he creates, his stories invite you to sit-down and make you an offer you can't refuse, or in his case, a book you can't put down. With lines like, "For somebody who guarded his privacy like a pitbull standing over a pound of raw burglar, Sherman managed to get people talking.", you can't help but to keep turning the page. Memorable lines, combined with pockets full of magic, that carry items like scouting paper samurai, who present their findings in an expected, yet unexpected way, give this story a "what's-around-the-next-corner?" anticipation. Thorne's "Fixing Mr. Styx" shows us that practiced flashlight storytelling and draws us into his tale, leaning in to hear, "In this world there was magic in the cracks and under the floorboards; there were dragons in the pipes and darklings in the woods but it was all at the edge of things, in the corner of your eye unless you knew where, exactly where, to look." So Thorne takes us there, with a knowing smile, and like entering a haunted house, we expect to come out the other side exhilarated, shaken and entertained. And indeed, we are. Then we get in line again, knowing the thrill is even better the second time around.