Blood Skies

Science Fiction & Fantasy

By Steven Montano

Publisher : Darker Sunset Press

ABOUT Steven Montano

Steven Montano
Steven Montano started writing at the age of 18 and never really stopped.  A graduate with distinction from the University of Colorado at Boulder, Steven took his Creative Writing degree and became an accountant, instead.  He still hasn’t figured out why. Many line items and a few pub More...

Description

In the time after The Black, human survivors of the Southern Claw Alliance clash with vampire legions of the Ebon Cities in a constant war for survival. Earth as we know it has been forever damaged by an arcane storm that fused our world with distant realms of madness and terror. Things that once existed only in our nightmares stalk the earth. Now, humanity is threatened by one of its own. Eric Cross, an enlisted warlock in the Southern Claw military, is part of an elite team of soldiers and mages in pursuit of a woman known as Red -- a witch whose stolen knowledge threatens the future of the human race. The members of Viper Squad will traverse haunted forests and blighted tundra in their search for the traitor, a journey that ultimately leads them to the necropolis of Koth. There, in that haven of renegade undead, Cross will discover the dark origins of magic, and the true meaning of sacrifice... Experience a dark and deadly new world in the debut novel of the "Blood Skies" series from author Steven Montano.

Posted by Jennifer Williams on Amazon.com and Goodreads 6/6/2011

“I had the privilege of reading Blood Skies before it was released and was pretty impressed. Steven Montano has taken an old, tired vampire genre and tossed it on its head — then handed it a machine gun and a bag of grenades. I am particularly impressed with Montano’s ability to build worlds. His post-apocalyptic Earth is fresh, deep, and loaded with new ideas that don’t bore. His battles are creative. His characters are hilariously sarcastic, especially when the chips are down. I had no idea how attached I had become to the main character, Cross, until the story began to take turns that were impossible to foresee. I was never bored while reading this book. Definitely recommend.”

5 out of 5 star review

Posted by Andrea Thompson on The Bookish Babes 6/13/2011

“Every now and then, I like to read something out of my “wheel house”.  So, when Steve Montano asked me if I would read and review his book, Blood Skies, I happily accepted. . If you’ve read any on my reviews, you can see that Blood Skies is definitely not the genre of book I typically read.  When I finish a book, I almost always write a review immediately. Other times, I like to let the book “stew”  and then write a review. Blood Skies is the type of book that I needed to let stew.

Blood Skies is what I’ll call an “apocalyptic fantasy”.  The story revolves around Eric Cross, who is a warlock and a soldier in the Southern Claw Military.  Warlocks and witches have spirits, a visible being who is literally a part of them. The spirit  heals, protects and fights for the person they belong to. Cross and his comrades, who includes his sister, Snow, who is a witch, are literally out to save the world. To fully explain the workings of their world would take a review longer than I want to write and definitely longer than you want to read.  But here’s what I do want to tell you:

Steve Montano is a writer with a beautiful, poetic style.  Montano is somehow able to paint a vivid picture of a bleak world. His world building is stunningly descriptive. His descriptions of the land, the sky, the sometimes terrible creatures who inhabit this world are so consuming, I  sometimes had to step back for a bit. The terror had me literally holding my breath.

Besides world-building, the author also did a brilliant job of conveying Cross’ emotions.  He gave an in-depth account of the terror and Cross’ struggles to maintain his sanity.  Surprisingly, there is also a tremendous amount of love in Blood Skies. Eric Cross has such deep, sometimes shattering love for his team, but especially his sister, Snow, and his spirit.  Sometimes, those passages regarding that love almost brought tears to my eyes. I wanted to share a tiny bit:

(Regarding Snow)“…and seeing her there now, so tall, so beautiful, filled him with worry and nearly brought a tear to his eyes.”

(Regarding Spirit) “His spirit still held him as if impassioned, and she was stuck to his skin like lover’s sweat.”

I’ll be the first to say that Blood Skies is not for everyone. But if you’re like me, and want to step out of your comfort zone, Blood Skies is a good place to start.”

4 out of 5 star review