SILENT CLARION, by Matthew Graybosch
Genre: science-fiction-thriller
Publisher: Curiosity Quills Press
Date of Release: June 1, 2015
Cover Artist: Eugene Teplitsky
Find Online: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads
Description:
My curiosity might get me killed. I thought I needed a vacation from my duties as an Adversary in service to the Phoenix Society. After learning about unexplained disappearances in a little town called Clarion, I couldn’t stop myself from checking it out.
Now I must protect a witness to two murders without any protection but my sword. I must identify a murderer who strikes from the shadows. I must expose secrets the Phoenix Society’s executive council is hellbent on keeping buried.
I have no support but an ally I dare not trust. If I cannot break the silence hiding what happened in Clarion’s past, I have no future. I must discover the truth about Project Harker. Failure is not an option.
Silent Clarion is a new-adult science-fiction thriller by Matthew Graybosch, set before the events of the Starbreaker novels. Meet Naomi Bradleigh as an Adversary, seventeen years before Without Bloodshed.
My Review
(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
This was another book I felt was more of a novella. It was quick and easy to read and I enjoyed getting to know the characters and having a glimpse into the world, even though I haven’t read the first book in this series.
I did like the main character in this book. Naomi was a character I found really easy to relate to. I would have liked a bit more detail about why she had a slightly different appearance… but she liked cats, which was a point in her favour.
It was good to see Naomi’s relationships with the other characters, particularly Jackie. However, I would have liked a bit more detail about how Naomi’s biological parents still kept their rights to her, since I don’t think that’s possible in present times. I did enjoy seeing Naomi with her parents and brothers, though. It was nice to see that Naomi had a good relationship with her family.
I thought that the job Naomi performed was a really interesting one. Even though I would have liked to know a bit more detail about the organisation’s history (and why they trained to fight with swords), I thought the idea was a unique one and something I could see actually forming in the future.
It was interesting to see how the society had discovered and named some of the genetic traits, such as the ability to only father male children. I was a bit unclear about what all of the coding referenced, though and why it mattered.
I felt this book worked really well to introduce me to the world and the characters. I would have liked to see more of the technology and also get a bit more background about the disappearances Naomi heard about. What I did read piqued my interest in learning more, though.
UPDATE: Upon contact with Curiosity Quills Press, I’ve found out this book is part of a serial. The next book in the series is due for publication in August.
About The Author
According to official records maintained by the state of New York, Matthew Graybosch was born on Long Island in 1978. Urban legends from New York suggest he might be Rosemary’s Baby, the result of top-secret DOD attempts to continue Nazi experiments combining human technology and black magic, or that he sprang fully grown from his father’s forehead with a sledgehammer in one hand and a copy of Bulfinch’s Mythology in the other — and has given the poor man headaches ever since.
The truth is more prosaic. Matthew Graybosch is a novelist from New York who lives in central Pennsylvania with his wife and cats. He is also an avid reader, a long-haired metalhead, and an unrepentant nerd. Without Bloodshed is his first published novel. He’s currently hard at work on the second Starbreaker novel, The Blackened Phoenix, while also working as a software developer.
Find Matthew Graybosch Online:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
About Curiosity Quills Press
Curiosity Quills Press (CQ) is a small hybrid publishing company specializing in genre fiction of the highest quality. With 150+ titles in our catalog already and approximately 6 new books coming out each month, there’s never a dull moment at CQ. We work with major retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Audible to ensure that you, the reader, can find whatever you are looking for at your convenience.
Founded in 2011 by Eugene Teplitsky and Lisa Gus, CQ was initially a resource portal for writing and publishing, created in an effort to help writers, like themselves, survive the publishing industry. After rapid success, CQ morphed into publishing press that over time has solidified its share in the market. Now we spend our days searching for the next great escape!
Ink of Blood 