Orlando Sanchez started his Montague and Strong supernatural detective series with a bang, rattling off four enjoyable novels in a row, each building on the strength of the characters Simon Strong, a normal human, and Tristan Montague, a mage plus assorted demi-gods, a hellhound, vampires, were-creatures and more. Lots of fun to read, lots of action, plenty of character development, humor and a sense of danger. The fifth novel was far less well-written due to some irritating new characters and Simon’s sudden descent into passive stupidity. Book six was only slightly better and I wondered whether Sanchez had lost his magic touch.
Book 7, Bullets and Blades, is not quite up to the standards of books one through three, but still far better than book five. True we still have LD and TK Tush – thankfully with minor roles – and too much “a miracle occurs here” type magic, but on the plus side Simon has his brain back.
Overall this is a big improvement, although I still used my Kindle Unlimited to borrow instead of buy. It will take a few more top quality novels from Sanchez before I plunk down cold hard cash.
4 Stars
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