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Formats
Ebook Details
  • 05/2022
  • 9781734706338 B09ZYP8885
  • 319 pages
  • $4.99
Hardcover Details
  • 05/2022
  • 9781734706376 1734706376
  • 286 pages
  • $29.67
Paperback Book Details
  • 05/2022
  • 9781734706352 173470635X
  • 290 pages
  • $17.25
Shane Boulware
Author
Soulstealer: Steven (Book 2)

Adult; Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror; (Market)

The Soulstealer’s greatest power is that no one believes it exists… …except Steven Carpenter. One of the last remaining members of the Ordo Solis—a thousand-year-old order sworn to kill the ancient demon—even his faith has begun to wane. But when he witnesses the return of the Soulstealer with his own eyes, belief quickly turns to grim reality. With the souls of the world at stake, Steven knows what he has to do—expose the Soulstealer. There’s just one problem, it knows it’s been discovered … and so do the nefarious cults sworn to the demon’s cause. In a race against time and evil, Steven will have to find help. But will it be enough? Or will they be too late? Author Shane Boulware ramps up the action in his hair-raising second entry in the Soulstealer series. Burning the boundaries between urban fantasy and suspense thriller, this grim-dark stomach-churner will leave you as breathless as the characters trapped within its pages. Grab this thriller today … and start running!
Plot/Idea: 7 out of 10
Originality: 6 out of 10
Prose: 6 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 6.75 out of 10

Assessment:

Plot: Starting off moving swiftly, the reader is thrown into the action. The author keeps the tension high through intense characters, members of an ancient order who are tasked with saving the world from demons.

Prose: The prose is propulsive and engaging, if at times overly exuberant in its tone. 

Originality: Though demons are hardly an original subject matter, the author creates an intriguing, atmospheric blend of urban fantasy and thriller, and offers some unique worldbuilding throughout. 

Character/Execution: Steven is passionately devoted to his cause, which is readily conveyed through the prose and the tense events that transpire. The antagonist in the story is similarly well-portrayed. 

Date Submitted: August 10, 2022

Reviews
Boulware continues his urban fantasy series with the polished second book in his Soulstealer saga. Steven follows dynamic protagonist Steven Carpenter in a battle against an ancient evil in order to save humanity. Steven is a member of the Ordo Solis, an organization created by the Catholic Church to fight a demon who inhabits a human host and gobbles up souls. Alongside a group of allies, Steven faces this terror while fighting through the political and legislative red-tape imposed by various organizations, including the United Nations. He must use his prowess to survive while convincing society of the grave danger lying in wait.

While categorized as urban fantasy, and featuring a classic clash involving cults and demonic powers, the novel tilts into religious and political thriller territory, with institutional conspiracies, an interest in Templars and the histories of the Crusades, and much in-depth diplomatic tug-and-pull as Steven and his allies try to secure political legitimacy for the Ordo Solis. Readers expecting traditional urban fantasy may feel that material takes too much page time away from the exciting battle between Steven and the Soulstealer. However, Boulware’s well-developed characters and skillful establishing of context and stakes keep the material dynamic and clear, even for readers who haven’t read the first book.

Steven’s excitement at teaming up with a professor who calls vaguely described legislation concerning gender and pronouns a “mask of evil” is certain to alienate many contemporary readers, and Boulware’s choice to block out vowels in profanity with asterisks is curious, as the words themselves still bloom fully in the reader’s minds. Readers onboard with these choices will find that Boulware keeps things moving, his compact prose style exemplified by short, quick chapters and to-the-point scenecraft, and that Steven’s battle to save the world is pivoted well against his desire to save the love of his life, creating well-balanced tension that keeps the pages turning.

Takeaway: A religious thriller with a splash of urban fantasy, ancient orders, and a clash between good and evil.

Great for fans of: Joseph Nassise, C.S. Johnson.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Formats
Ebook Details
  • 05/2022
  • 9781734706338 B09ZYP8885
  • 319 pages
  • $4.99
Hardcover Details
  • 05/2022
  • 9781734706376 1734706376
  • 286 pages
  • $29.67
Paperback Book Details
  • 05/2022
  • 9781734706352 173470635X
  • 290 pages
  • $17.25
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