Review - Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk

I admit, I have a penchant for assassins. Am I the only one? Looking at the amount of fantasy and science fiction novels revolving around assassins, I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say, nope.

In the holy city of Othir, treachery and corruption lurk at the end of every street, just the place for a freelance assassin with no loyalties and few scruples. Caim makes his living on the edge of a blade, but when a routine job goes south, he is thrust into the middle of an insidious plot. Pitted against crooked lawmen, rival killers, and sorcery from the Other Side, his only allies are Josephine, the socialite daughter of his last target, and Kit, a guardian spirit no one else can see. In this fight for his life, Caim only trusts his knives and his instincts, but they won't be enough when his quest for justice leads him from Othir's hazardous back alleys to its shining corridors of power. To unmask a conspiracy at the heart of the empire, he must claim his birthright as the Shadow's Son...

Shadow's Son (2010) [US] [UK] was a quick read about one of my favorite topics, assassins. I don't know what it is, do I really wish I were an assassin? Admittedly, probably part of me, and I'm guess others as well, but shouldn't we be a little worried that it's so popular? Should we really wonder why there are so many terrible things happening in the world, I mean, we all want to be assassins!

Okay, I don't actually think things are that bad, andassassins are just cool I guess. The solitary life, the late nights, the creeping around in other people's houses. Some of us already pretty much live the life anyway right? Hehe, yes, that was a joke.

Back on topic. Shadow's Son, like I said before, is a quick read, but with the added bonus of being one of those stories that reveals all the pertinent information as the plot unfolds and at a quick pace. I kept comparing this toThe Crown Conspiracy (review) as I read because of these similar elements. Thus preserving the mysteries that slowly come to light about Caim's past and about his companion Kit, the spirit who only Caim can see and who flitters in and out of his life throughout the book.

Add to this some great main protagonists in Caim and Josephine and you have one heck of a ride. Caim is the assassin with the heard of gold, which, however unbelievable that may be that a hardened individual could kill with hardly a thought and then show compassion, it works yet again in Shadow's Son.

Josephine is thrown into the mess after her father is killed and I couldn't help but be drawn to her. She's shown as a somewhat impetuous and rebellious teen, and again, Sprunk pulls you into her character as she experiences not only some hardships, but atrocities as well.

Why Should You Read Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk?

Shadow's Son is a well-written book with some great characters and set in medieval territory with dark magic. What's not to love? The only real complaint I have is that it was only 278 pages...I really didn't want to stop reading. Luckily, this is the first in a trilogy and Melissa of My World has found out that Jon is hard at work on the sequel due out next year.

4 out of 5 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher