Jubal Van Zandt And The Revenge Of The Bloodslinger by eden Hudson (book review).

I must admit that ‘Jubal Van Zandt And The Revenge Of The Bloodslinger’ by eden Hudson has the distinction of having the longest title of any book I have read recently. It may be a long title but at 218 pages its quite a short book. In case you are wondering, it is indeed ‘eden Hudson’ with a lowercase ‘e’ and not a typo. I checked on her blog spot at http://whitetrashcappuccino.blogspot.co.uk

Jubal Van Zandt is a thief and certainly, in his opinion, the greatest thief in the Revived Earth. Following a collapse in the planet-wide civilisation, the religious Guild were the chief architects for the subsequent rebuilding. That’s why it’s known as a Revived Earth. Being religious fanatics the guild does of course have a military contingent amongst their ranks. Guild Knight Carina Xiao is just such a person.

Ordinarily, a Guild Knight would only be seen with Zandt when they were either arresting him and/or killing him. While they are polar opposites, they do have quite a bit in common. Zandt’s father was a serial killer, while Xiao’s father was also known for his aptitude for killing people. Something he did quite a lot of but as he was a Guild Knight it was all perfectly legal. Killing people is also something Carina Xiao is quite good at. So good that she got the nickname Bloodslinger. The story starts when Zandt attends a meeting with Xiao who wants to discuss an assignment that hasn’t been sanctioned by the Guild. It’s more of a personal quest and Xiao needs Zandt’s help in getting into a place although the actual location of the place isn’t known at this time. The challenge and expected pay-off are too much of a temptation for Zandt and so the pair set off on a futuristic road-trip. Looking for the hidden destination.

What makes this a fascinating book to read are the personalities of the two lead characters. They get to know each other during the trip and find in some ways they are quite similar but also very different. As they attempt to locate the target of Xiao’s personal quest, they encounter one or two difficulties which are either resolved through violence or guile and trickery. Zandt is not averse to backstabbing and double-dealing when he can get away with it but eden Hudson’s writing makes you sort of like him even when you know you shouldn’t.

As the story gets closer to the climax, there’s plenty of scope for Xiao to demonstrate the fighting qualities of a Guild Knight but Zandt becomes more of a spectator. He doesn’t really demonstrate why he should be considered the greatest thief in the Revived Earth. Using an app to steal a car is hardly cutting edge, is it? Even if Zandt was the greatest thief of the age, I’m not sure who he could brag about it to? He seems to have a very good knack of upsetting most of the people he meets.

There’s a very good plot twist which lays the foundation for book two in the series. ‘Jubal Van Zandt And The Revenge Of The Bloodslinger’ is a refreshingly good read. It’s a bit short but there’s some good ideas in here and a plausible future environment for the story to play itself out. This book carries the sub-title of ‘Jubal Van Zandt Book 1’ which sort of drops a heavy hint that there are going to be more. I’m glad of that as I think Jubal Van Zandt needs a bit more character development. I’ll be one of the first in the queue as I want to see what happens to Zandt in Book 2.

Andy Whitaker

November 2016

(pub: Shadow Alley Press. 218 page eBook. Price: £ 2.99 (UK). ASIN: B01M0NZWPU)

check out websites: https://shadowalleypress.com/ and www.whitetrashcappuccino.blogspot.co.uk