Sunday, November 10, 2013

Review: Leon's Lair by The Phoenix



What would you do if your vacation cruise ship was being attacked and you knew you were going to be killed?

Would you fight? Would you hide? Would you try to escape?

This international thriller/contemporary fantasy is a nail-biting ride that is grisly but somewhat tongue-in-cheek, a brutal tale of horror and the occult that doesn't take itself too seriously. It includes romance, continental adventure, action, suspense, and dozens of vivid characters from around the world.

The adventure starts with The Jakarta, an elegant cruise ship sailing the exotic seas in Indonesia with a passenger list of ninety, unsuspecting people. Jane and her best friend, Remy, are just getting know the rest of the small group of young twenty-somethings when the ship is attacked by pirates. However, Leon and his band are not your usual pirates - they want something else.

Jane and two male companions escape the horror, fleeing in a lifeboat. In their flight to escape Leon and his men, they become lost at sea for weeks, are out of water, and have nearly lost hope of ever finding rescue when they finally catch sight of land, a dangerous rain-forested island that seems deserted. However, their fight for survival has only just begun.

They are not alone.
Fate is cruel. 
They thought they had escaped, only to find they are caught in Leon's Lair.


Review

For some reason, even though the description of the book says the characters were on a "cruise" when they are attacked by Leon and his goons, I went into it thinking it was going to be a historical or regency type thing. You know- *makes sword motion with hand* - Pirates. But It was cool that is was a more recent setting. I mean, they are on a cruise ship. You fill in the timeline yourself. 

The story focuses on a bunch of different characters and a bunch of different viewpoints. And.. I mean a BUNCH of characters. I thought this was an interesting take- since we get to know everybody's opinions on certain subjects. I mean.. I don't usually like venturing outside of more than a few characters, but I found it tolerable. (: 
Especially a certain character in the second half. meep. He was interesting. 

Jane, Peter, and Nick's story was pretty interesting. Theirs is sort of a story of survival and romance. It felt like it dragged on a little bit at times, but I liked Peter. He was a pretty down to earth and relate-able character. (: Jane was a sweet and relate-able girl as well.I mean She liked to read- you know before she had to vacate the cruise and try to survive adrift at sea... lol.  Nick was okay, too, for a rich guy.

I must say that I found that I liked Remy more than I liked Jane- even though Jane was pretty much one of the main characters. Well.. maybe not really. I mean, the book focused on a lot of characters, so I guess there were only a few who had more spotlight than the others- of the makes sense. (: But yeah, Love Remy and my mystery character from the latter part of the book. <3

I found the paranormal/ related aspects to be interesting. I love Leo's description of how the Vampires came to be. When we are in his head in the beginning of the book, he says that they are not the traditional vampires of legend. They are more I guess like cannibals- except they do it in order to not get sick and to survive. Since... here is the kicker... the Vampire..ness is a disease! What? I know. That is so cool. Apparently they were people who lived on a small island and were infected by rabid bats ^-^. They got the "disease" from the bats and the only way they can find relief is to drink/ eat human blood/flesh.. things. lol. I found that an original and interesting take on the vampires. Some of the other stuff was similar to regular vampires, but not much. 

There is not much more paranormal awesomeness until the second half/ second story. I super loved that part. :D 

Some parts did feel a smidge repetitive which hinders my reading process when I am trying to push my way through a long book. But it kept me interested, even though i had to reread some things and take a few breaks. Good read. 

Oh, oh, oh. My bad guy! Leon is one crazy mo-fo and was super mean and icky. . . I loved it. hehe. I liked that he had a large part of the book as well. I got to flip back and forth between the protagonist, the villain, and the side characters. 

Pretty cool read for lovers of horror, survival stories, and someone who wants to read something with a slight paranormal twist. 

3.7



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