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Summary: The Author On "Digital Knight"
Review: "So why didn't you give your book 5 stars?" is probably the first or second question to come to mind if anyone's reading this one. And the answer is "I don't want to bias results too much one way or the other". Also, if I'm taking the star rating as an objective scale, I can't honestly say I think my writing (yet) stacks up next to my favorite authors' works.Digital Knight, which I describe these days in a nutshell as "MacGyver meets the X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer", has a long history prior to publication, having had parts of it posted on the Net as early as 1992, and parts written quite some time before that. A shorter version, made up of three of the six sections found in the paperback, was available for purchase online a few years ago. The story of how it came to be published is very long, though pretty amusing, and can be summed up as following the perilous course of having insulted the right person in the right way at the right time, followed with appropriate behavior afterwards. After reading Digital Knight, it's likely the reader will have questions; all of my projected solo works take place in the same general universe, but anywhere from half a million years in the past to several thousand years in our future. As such, there are going to be things that are seen in the book which, as they are not central to the plot of Digital Knight, are only sketchily described; they will be more clearly explicated in other works. None of my immediately projected works are "series" in the sense that you have to read one to enjoy the next; while you may recognize certain elements, it won't require that you have read the other books. I welcome comments on my work, good and bad. Keep in mind: I write to entertain. I have no illusions or ambitions about writing Great Literature; all I want to do is write stories that the reader can say "hey, that was fun!" about once they're done. Thanks for reading!
Ryk E. Spoor
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Summary: Digital Knight Rocks!
Review: A very entertaining book which is consistent, logical & creative. The Werewolves represent a refreshing variation on traditional themes and are among the most frightening opponents ever written. The characters are fun to follow and interesting to learn about. Digital Knight is well worth the time to read.
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Summary: Strong characters and good writing
Review: I despise books about vampires and werewolves and such. I'm not fond of mysteries. But strong characters and good writing overcome my prejudices every time.
Jason Wood is an information specialist and a skeptical man. He doesn't believe in vampires, but a body with two holes in the neck and no blood force him to reconsider. And how does an information specialist combat threats from vampires? He compiles a database on their habits, selects weapons, and fights back.
The first five pages of this book hooked me. I'll be looking for more from Ryk Spoor; the man can write.
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Summary: A somewhat dissapointing vampire tale
Review: I found this book to be disappointing not because the story is bad, it isn't, but rather because I was expecting something else. Digital Knight is about a man who works with the police as a private contractor working in the field of information analysis. He basically researches information and compiles databases. He is also good with enhancing photo imagery. Later in the story he becomes something of a private detective. Now all this is fine as far as it goes, but I bought this for the vampire/supernatural angle, but the vampire in the story turns out not to be a vampire at all but an immortal high priest of Atlantis. Werewolves with crystal claws become the age old enemies of this man and his people and... I may have this wrong, but it seems there is an alien angle threaded through the story too. The story was different and imaginative, though the first portion of the book read like a collection of short stories at first, but I found the entire thing vaguely annoying and unsatisfying. The story and dialogue didn't ring true and I never once found myself caught up in the story enough to exclude the world around me. I gave this one three stars because the book is genuinely different from others in this genre, but that very fact makes it not as worthy of more stars in my opinion. It is just plain not as good as those others. Mark E. Cooper...
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Summary: Fun read, but flawed
Review: I just finished the digital version of this book, downloaded from Baen's WebScriptions site. It is pretty much a short story collection, with continuting characters to form a story arc, I guess. Set in what looks like the near future (gadgets seem just 5 years or so ahead of what's here now), it follows the adventures of Jason Wood, digital image enhancer and overall finder-of-information. It's written private-dick murder-mystery investigation style, complete with our work-at-home hero who has a not-quite-girlfriend. It evolves from there as Jason discovers that the murderer is really, truly a vampire -- and so is the falsely accused!
There are a lot of original premises and ideas in this book (which I will not spoil) which give it interesting plot twists and turns. However, the author has a lot to learn about the craft of writing. We have professionally paranoid people in this story who become friends with our heroes much too easily. Things are much too straight-up good-guys and bad-guys. (Even the "dirty angels" aren't very morally ambiguous.)
I didn't see any indication of whether these stores were previously published. The story arc leaves off before many complications are resolved; we see a lot of character progress and story, but it's bluntly clear that there's more story to tell.
I recommend this book if you want an interesting read, but aren't expecting too much. If the author picks up more storytelling skills, I will be interested to see more in the future.
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Summary: I couldn't put it down
Review: I picked this book up after dinner one night, expecting to just read a while before bedtime. At about 2 AM my wife called out "Do you realize how late it is?" Uh, no. The story involves both diverse types of superhuman and human characters, who interact together in an entertaining adventure. The *main* protagonist is a information specialist who can research most types of data, including graphical enhancement. He has become a police consultant because of those specialties, and that is what ends up getting him involved with vampires, werewolves and other superhuman entities. The main supporting cast includes a psychic semi-girlfriend, a vampire who is more than a vampire, and the king of werewolves. The book is really a series of interconnected stories. In the first story the hero, the super-vampire, the girlfriend and other characters are introduced along with a problem obviously involving a vampire. Later stories introduce werewolves, a basilisk, an unidentified hostile demon. All the stories and characters are fun and consistent throughout the book. You wont want to put it down, so start early in the day. Oh, bye the way, the vampires are a little different from the Saberhagen and Rice versions of vampires, so don't expect it to be a rehash of those older legends.
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Summary: Newbie author pens fantastic first novel, breathes new life
Review: I tend to be stingy with those 5th stars, so pretend Digital Knight has a 4.5 rating. The story centers around Jason Wood and his work as an information and technology specialist (a modern gumshoe of sorts). He quickly finds his work, and himself, heading for the supernatural, and the story gets fun FAST. Digital Knight is told in the first person (single first person, just Jason Wood), so it reads a bit like an older mystery novel. This may be a bit of an upset for Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans, but Ryk pulls it off just fine. I found Ryk's dialogue a bit underdeveloped. Characters tended to have the same speaking styles (say, 20 characters with only 6 different speaking styles...it wasn't as bad as, say, 20 characters with ONE speaking style). Some of the dialogue read a little "As you know, Bob..."-ish. While a little akward, the dialogue didn't throw me out of the story. That's really it for cons. The pros of this story are in its fast pace and intelligent plot turns. The reader is following an intelligent character through a series of imaginative twists and turns. Ryk really helps the reader develop respect and interest in Jason Wood and his close associates. This isn't a story full of idiot high school kids getting munched on by demons that don't even _have_ to try hard. This is good stuff! Like any good mystery story, Ryk reveals enough that you can sometimes see what is coming (and, therefore, makes the reader feel smart), but definitely keeps the surprises coming (and, therefore, keeps the reader interested). Folks, if the words 'vampire, werewolf, detective story' don't chase you off, you'll like Digital Knight (read Eric Flint's comments on the cover about this...lol). You may not love it, but you'll like it. I picked up Digital Knight for my usual 'bus ride to work' fodder, but I should have put it on the coffee table for more dedicated reading.
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Summary: Just a good read
Review: In a genre overcome with endless self psycho-analysing heroes, comes Digital Knight. The story told is simply, the plots aren't always as simple, and the prose is well written. The book reads almost as if it were a series of linked short stories, which can be refreshing. The underlying story the builds as you read through our hero's adventures makes a very interesting backdrop to a universe I would greatly enjoy seeing further developed. The politics and character motivations don't read like they were written by a bored housewife somewhere. They are easy to understand, and don't get in the way of the interesting plot and premises of the novel. Such things are present, as they should be, however, you won't find yourself reading just the beginning and ending of chapters to catch the intesting parts.
Rating:
Summary: Just a good read
Review: In a genre overcome with endless self psycho-analysing heroes, comes Digital Knight. The story told is simply, the plots aren't always as simple, and the prose is well written. The book reads almost as if it were a series of linked short stories, which can be refreshing. The underlying story the builds as you read through our hero's adventures makes a very interesting backdrop to a universe I would greatly enjoy seeing further developed. The politics and character motivations don't read like they were written by a bored housewife somewhere. They are easy to understand, and don't get in the way of the interesting plot and premises of the novel. Such things are present, as they should be, however, you won't find yourself reading just the beginning and ending of chapters to catch the intesting parts.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, a REAL Ghostbuster. . .
Review: Meet Jason Wood, computer geek and imaging specialist. Not the kind of person you would expect to be investigating, and fighting. . . monsters. Yet, he turns out, with the help of his girlfriend Sylvia, to be the central point of several interconnected tales featuring vampires, werewolves, and previously unknown monsters. . . and technology. Add in a few conspiracies, the real "X-Files" agency, and a few unexpected plot twists, and you get a thoroughly enjoyable first novel. I only gave it 4 stars, because I want MORE. . ..
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