Description: Save the girl...or his soul?
Crusader is numb. He feels neither emotion nor pain, a divine gift that allows him to be the Ministrix's best assassin.
Whether it's heretics from within or heathens from without, Crusader is the sword in the True Church's hand. And if he remains obedient to his superiors, he will be able to let go of his guilt.
But then he's ordered to kill Isolda Westin. It shouldn't be a problem. A target is a target. When Crusader sees Isolda's image, though, something strange happens. He experiences a moment of panic, a wave of emotions--the first he's felt in as long as he can remember.
In that moment, he realizes he can't fulfill his mission. He can't kill Isolda Westin, even if it means he'll be condemned as an enemy of the Ministrix.
Soon Crusader and Isolda are on the run. Will they be able to learn why the Ministrix wants Isolda dead? Or will they both soon face the harsh justice of the "True Church"?
My Thoughts: Like most things I have seen where the characters do not feel emotions, Numb had a main character who seemed suspiciously curious and irritable... especially irritable. But unlike the other things I have seen, Numb did not drag this portion of the book out for long.
Once Crusader had begun to feel again, I became really interested in his story and that of Isolda. I was also enthralled by the civilization in which they lived and how the Ministrix worked. I look forward to reading more of John's work in the future.
In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
Numb - http://www.amazon.com/Numb-John-W-Otte/dp/1935929992/
Author Website - http://johnwotte.com/
The civilizaton and the Ministrix was very interesting! There were a few times when I was thinking "Wait, isn't Crusader numb right now? This is an awful lot of feeling..." but for the most part I thought it was well balanced.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is just difficult to write a character with no emotions since humans have a lot of them.
DeleteHi, Rebekah! Thank you so much for your review and thoughts! I'm glad you were able to participate in the tour.
ReplyDeleteGlad I could as well!
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