Accession of the Stone Born by Ken Lange

Awesome new series alert!! Join the incredible world where Gavin Randall, goes from normal everyday kick ass human to powerful, nearly immortal Vigiles Urbani.  Incredible trip!

Title: Accession of the Stone Born
Author: Ken Lange
Series: The Vigiles Urbani Chronicles Book 01
Publish Date: May 16, 2016
Genre:  Urban Fantasy/Military
Source:  Provided by the author

Publisher’s Description: Former DOD operative Gavin Randall is coming home after twenty-eight years of war. Dismissed by the government he spent his life fighting for, his only solace is knowing that the life waiting for him is one of peace.

Unfortunately, Gavin stumbles upon a secret underworld that exists alongside ours, one populated by vampires, mages, and bloodthirsty werebeasts.

Now, Gavin finds himself recruited by the Biblical Lazarus, leader of this hidden community. He must track down those who seek to disrupt the fragile peace keeping these nightmare horrors at bay. If he fails, more than his life will be forfeit.

Nervous Nellie’s nervousness necessitates knowledge of the novel (or, in other words, SPOILERS).

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Nervous Nellie says…

…..so matter of fact that it wasn’t the act of taking someone’s life that bothered him.  It was clear he didn’t have an issue with it, but it was more a matter that someone was such a waste of space that to acknowledge them would allow them credibility they didn’t deserve.

OR

Remember, men of real character have always been made out of hard choices and harder lives.

This is an urban fantasy with a military based protagonist. Action and mystery within the supernatural world. No sex, no graphic violence (there is violence just not described in blood soaking detail) and no cliffhanger.  There is a little swearing, but it’s just normal every day stuff.  There is a possible romance that may or may not develop, but other than that, no mushy stuff.

I have a new author to follow, harass, stalk or whatever other verb you’d care to use.  He came to me in a flash of light.  Well, okay, a friend emailed me with a suggestion of his book to read and my phone’s LED indication of a new email flashed.  Hence, flash of light.

Seriously, though, this guy is a very good writer.  Accession‘s world is modern day New Orleans.  The protagonist is a “do the right thing” kind of guy that worked for the military for all his adult life and now that the military is done with him, he needs to figure out what to do in the civilian world.  If I were to do a comparison of this book to other books I’ve read, I’d be hard pressed to nail down another character that Gavin, the protagonist, is remotely similar to.  Briefly, Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden popped into my head, but that isn’t quite right.  The closest I can come is that Gavin is kind of like Larry Correia’s Owen Zastava Pitt from the Monster Hunter International series.

The world that the author built for Gavin Randall is so dimensional and so very well written that I liked him immediately.  When I say immediately, I mean by the time I reached the end of the first page.  The like only grew from there.  Gavin is his own man and that cemented his identity as a free thinker with no allegiance to any one particular faction. That made him perfect for the “Job”. Each of the secondary characters are individuals. They are fleshed out and their personalities have personality. There are the politicians, the sidekicks, the wanna-be, the shunned and also those characters that I love to hate.

If I were to read between the lines, I could see the parallelism between our world and Gavin’s.  Things aren’t always fair but if I don’t stand up for what is right, then all it leads to is perpetual downfall.

This was an amazing book.  It is definitely worth your time.

Invested Ivana says…

In Accession of the Stone Born, Lange has created a world with a variety of supernatural characters and a very interesting history. Though born to this world, Gavin Randall was not raised in it and is therefore ignorant of its existence. When he finally does become involved, he can view the world as an outsider who is not attached to outdated and unhelpful prejudices, beliefs, and political alliances and therefore can be a catalyst for change.

I particularly love the relationship between Gavin and his uncle, Andrew. From Gavin, there is both the love and respect for an older family-member and the awareness that humans, and leaders of Andrew’s caliber in particular, can be fallible. From Andrew there is near-fatherly love, a desire to mentor, and the frustration of a leader who can’t control an employee too new to be trusted completely.

The magic of the Stone Born is something I haven’t really seen before, which is nice.  I’m eager to see Gavin’s story continue and learn more about his world. 3.5.

Other reviews…

• Farish’s Freehold

If you like this book…

• Monster Hunter International series by Larry Correia
• Deacon Chalk series by James Tuck
• Yancy Lazurus series by James A. Hunter