In the Hours of Darkness Author: Tygati Title: In the Hours of Darkness Series: No Man's Land 1 Genre: Science Fiction Pairing: M/M Length: Novellete Rating: Three Petals On the Author's Website: http://tygati.blogspot.com/ Summary: On the frontier planet No Man's Land, Sheriff Charlie Colcord upholds the law and protects the people of Deadwood Gulch. His job is difficult and often dangerous due to the vicious native creatures which inhabit the plains and mountains of Noman, but Charlie and his riders have one advantage: dragons. But the dragons come with their own difficulties in the way of a secret known only to a few. Charlie is a man used to keeping secrets, and it's not the dragons' secret that keeps him up at night. His secret is known to only one other, and keeping it makes their lives complicated enough that hunting monsters on the plains of Noman is almost relaxing. Maggie's Review:
I first read this story when it was half-finished and posted for free on Tygati's livejournal. It had great potential then and I was very excited to learn it was going to be published. Unfortunately, I don't think it lived up to the hype. It was admittedly an interesting bit of fluff to read, but it also had far too many issues. The story reads like a long prologue. It works as an introduction to the series as a whole, which is probably its only saving grace. This is the planet we live on, this is the culture we've created, these are the monsters we fight, and these are the dragons we ride. While it was all definitely interesting to learn, there was a lot more explaining than there was plot. It was all very well written, though. The story begins in the middle of everything. Charlie is already sheriff, he's already in love, and his personality is already established. The only conflicts in his life are the complications that come with his job and, while his job fighting monsters is certainly exciting, overall he's a boring guy. Tygati would have been better off turning the story into a novel and starting with Charlie before he met his dragon. That would have afforded some plot and would have given Charlie depth as a character as he grew into the man we're instead handed in the book. In fact, the entire purpose of In the Hours of Darkness appears to be as an introduction to the main character in the second book in the series, Jeremy. His vanishing act is the only bit of plot this book has, as Charlie has to go save him. It establishes what type of person Jeremy is and the struggles he'll have to overcome to become better. I am planning on getting the second book in the series, but there was so much potential squandered in this first book that I can't help feeling disappointed. Maggie's Final Recommendation: This was a fun book, but it felt too much like a prologue to the series rather than an individual story. The main character was boring and the lack of plot made it hard to read. I will be getting the next book in the series, which promises to be the exact opposite of this first one. I would recommend you read In the Hours of Darkness, if only so you're prepared to read book two.
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Magnolia's Reviews
Maggie reviews paranormal and fantasy novels and novellas. She also interviews authors and hosts giveaways. Archives
April 2018
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