Gave up after a major gun battle in Paris with nary a gendarme or a siren approaching ( )

I received a free (digital) copy of the book in exchange for a review.

The immortal Crovir and Bastian races have been at each other's throats for centuries. So, when Lucas Soul (a half-breed) finds that half the immortals want him dead, Lucas and his best bud Reid bomb their way through Europe trying to figure out why.

Soul Meaning is very much a plot-driven book. I usually have a preference for books that are slow paced, centred on world building and character development, but I actually quite enjoyed the change of scenery Soul Meaning provided.

Although this book is good, it didn't blow me away. There were far too many action scenes in the first half of the novel for my liking and not enough exposure of the plot. Thankfully the focus shifted in the second half of the book. The two main characters (Lucas and Reid) were solid creations, but the secondary characters didn't particularly shine, mainly due to the first person narration. I also couldn't see how the Crovir and the Bastians were different races - they seemed pretty much exactly the same to me. Perhaps this will be clarified in later books (or maybe I missed something?).

However, I will continue reading the series. I liked the premise and there were some cool ideas thrown in (especially the ones at the end).

Edit: I went onto the author website and was really impressed by the amount of research she put into the book. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series as I'm sure she's been just as thorough there! ( )

Lucas Soul has a problem. There are people who are trying to kill him, and they've just succeeded--for the fifteenth time.

There are two immortal races, the Crovirs and the Bastians, who share Earth with humans. They were at war with each other for millennia, until an uneasy truce was reached at the time of the Black Death. But one thing is still absolutely taboo: intermarriage, or more specifically breeding, between Crovir and Bastian.

Lucas Soul is the son of a Crovir father and a Bastian mother. His mother and father were murdered when he was a small boy, and he was killed for the first time. For centuries they hunted him, and killed him another thirteen times.

Immortals can only survive sixteen deaths; the seventeenth is fatal. For the last century, they seem to have lost interest, perhaps finally convinced he has no intention of using the one ability that makes him a really dreadful danger to them.

But now they're after him again, and he has no idea why. And with only one more death left before the final one, he needs to find out. Soon he and his human friend and business partner, ex-Marine and ex-cop Reid Hasley, are off on a hair-raising chase from Boston to Washington to much of Europe, finding unexpected allies and enemies, and unsuspected secrets about Soul's family history.

Also, of course, uncovering a very dangerous conspiracy.

The story is fast-paced, exciting, and interesting. Starrling has built a fascinating history and culture for the immortals, and some real character development has gone into any character who has more than a line or two.

This is the first of a series, which always makes me wary, but it's a solid start, and I look forward to seeing more.

Minor oddity: The excellent narrator's voice is American, or at least North American, but Soul's vocabulary is often distinctly British. I have no idea if the combination of a British vocabulary with an American accent was intentional or accidental.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of the audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review. ( )

READ IN ENGLISH

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


Soul Meaning, the first book in the new Seventeen series, starts of intriguing...

‘My name is Lucas Soul.

Today, I died again.

This is my fifteenth death in the last four hundred and fifty years.’

Sounds good. What follows is an action packed urban fantasy with some sightseeing in Europe on the side.

I quite enjoyed this debut, the writing is very fast and I was immediately pulled into the story. There were enough questions to keep me guessing for some time, and it was a nice read.

There is not too much world building in this book. There are two races of 'immortals' (they are not really immortal, but can survive up to sixteen deaths), but what the differences are between the two is never fully explained. Also, there is a lot of talking about the nobility of these races, but not once is a peasant named. What use is a title if we all have one? Exactly how much immortals are we talking about and how have they managed to keep their existence a secret from us plain humans? We never get to know the answers.

The main character, Lucas Soul, is your good, old, special snowflake. Born the child of a mixed-race love affair between the two immortal-races (though that apparently happens from time to time, no matter the war they're fighting with each other) he's blessed with some extra special skills, how convenient. He's also accompanied by his partner-in-crime Reid, a human ex-cop, who apparently has, although he's mortal, nine lives, as the bullets just keep missing him.

And there are a lot of bullets. And swords, for that matter. As Lucas is being hunted down by Hunters, I don't think there are twenty pages without a lot of gunfire, fighting and life endangering situations. This is something you have to like, but if you don't mind it, you'll most likely enjoy this book. You also get a trip to Europa, as in a murderous pace France, Swiss, Austria, the Czech republic and Germany are visited. It's like a tour trough mid-Europe.

So far, I was really enjoying this book, although it has some flaws. But the epilogue felt unnecessary to me, and weird in comparison to the rest of the novel. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book. ( )

My original Soul Meaning audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Soul Meaning by A.D. Starrling is the first book in a series called Soul Meaning. Lucas Soul is a private detective and a half-breed immortal. When the hunters of the immortal race Crovir start hunting him, Lucas is suddenly on the run after centuries of silence. His investigation leads him from Boston to Washington DC to all over Europe. Accompanied by his human partner, Reid Hasley, Lucas fights for his life and steps into the politics of the immortal races. Lucas must figure out the motivation of the Crovir hunters and address them before the immortal society comes crashing down and kills him.

This is a fast paced action adventure with a lot of suspenseful intrigue built on a really cool back story to make it really exciting. Starrling has created a really interesting shadow world of immortals that lives amongst, but hidden, from humans. The unique nature of the immortal deaths and how Lucas fits into the world works really well. I really liked the characters, their evolving relationships and the way that the politics of the immortal world is developed for the reader as the story continues. Lucas is a compelling main character. While he is somewhat of an underdog, his considerable skills at fighting and the revelations about his unique position in the immortal world lift him into a pretty complex character. His interactions with Reid, politicians, and other immortals are fun to listen to and move the story forward. There is also a romantic component to the novel that I thought was merely okay, but its addition to the storyline was necessary for some plot points. I did find some of the action scenes to be too much to follow along with, but that's a personal preference. While the motivation of the villain of the story is seemingly cliché, the way that Starling has incorporated science into the plotline made it interesting and novel. The scientific motivation really made the backstory exciting for me and made we want to find out more about some of the complexities of the immortal races.

The narration by Michael Bower was really excellent. His voicing of the characters really well, including all the accents, and was well paced. The well-executed articulation of the sighs or laughs really brought the story to life and is a great skill for a narrator. The production quality was good as well. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes face paced action adventure stories with a touch of science.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author. ( )