Hey killers,
It’s been a while since I wrote anything here. The bushfires, the Covid pandemic, and my last semester of University have all conspired to keep me from my creative work work. But I turned in my thesis a week or so ago and now I have some time again–just in time for lockdown take 2.
It’s been a while since I published any new work. I have some things coming out soon, and I am planning to write here a bit more now, but in the meantime I thought I would share with you some reviews of my newest novel, Shadowmancy. The book will be in stores in Australia/ New Zealand next month and I thought I’d share some reviews to whet your appetite.
Firstly, there’s on in Aurealis magazine by Eugen Bacon, published back in March, which you can get here if you buy the mag (it’s great value): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1007987. Eugen says:
“Nicholas Hunter's superior illustrations strongly carry the story, even in monochrome… The author’s voice remains deftly stark, deboned sentences carrying the plot to a shadowmancy ending that leaves the reader contemplating it."
Another review I’ve probably linked before is from Narrelle Harris: https://narrellemharris.com/reviews/review-shadowmancy-by-jason-franks/.Narrelle said:
"Shadowmancy is a crunchy little book, thoroughly enjoying, in its dark and brooding way, the dismantling of mystic-mountain-school pop culture."
Here’s a less favourable one from the Critiquing Chemist. (Thanks for reading, Sarah!): https://critiquingchemist.com/2020/06/24/shadowmancy-by-jason-franks/. (NB this one contains spoilers if you scroll too far, but they are marked so you won’t stumble on them if you’re careful.) While the book didn’t work for Sarah I was very happy to see this quote:
"...a dark and gritty study of a boy who thinks he will out-learn them all. Quay is a misanthrope and sociopath, and still Franks makes him work as the central antihero."
And finally, here’s another kind one from Mark Webb: http://www.markwebb.name/?p=3196, who says:
Franks grounds his writing with a sense of place, a visual sensibility enhanced by the illustrations. The pacing is great, the characters vivid, the choices bold.
Alrighty, that’s probably enough for now. I’ll be back again soon when the book is available int he distributor’s catalogue.
Cheers,
— JF
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