“Scion” is billed as “John Wick meets Ghost in the Shell“, but honestly I think it’s more Grosse Pointe Blank meets Blade Runner, with a dusting of Murderbot. There’s a lot of humour amongst the murdering and mayhem, which keeps the novella from getting too dark.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the advanced reader copy.
Azure is an assassin, super-powered by “revs”, physical and mental enhancements installed by the corporation he works for. He’s used to fulfilling contracts on “lifers”, exceedingly rich people who pay to have their lives extended indefinitely – unless someone assassinates them.
This time, though, Azure is tasked to be the protector, not the killer, a role he’s not used to. Of course, the job isn’t what it seems…
I enjoyed “Scion”. The pace was great, the action plentiful, and the main character was interesting and had at least 2.5 dimensions. I agree with other reviewers that several of the other characters appeared only briefly to serve their purpose, but I like to think that they will show up again in future books.
I’ve never read a James Islington book before, so I didn’t have any preconceived notions about what type of book this would be. It seems that some reviewers were expecting something a little more high concept, like his high fantasy “Licanius” trilogy. “Scion” is eminently readable but not to be taken too seriously.
You can pre-order “Scion” at Simon & Schuster.