The Sagely Fox

Watching, Learning, Thinking

(Nix 2) Blood of a Phoenix by Shannon Mayer Review

  2021-04-30  

After the fight in the warehouse, and shutting down Romano’s illegal magic dispensary, taking all his money, and killing more than a few of his cronies—including one of my brothers—I was spent.

He killed my dog, my father and tried to kill my mother. Didn’t he?” "He did". The shadowed man spread his hands. "Your dog is still alive.” “I don’t want anything from him.” I spit. He chuckled. “You sound like your mother when you’re angry.”

(Nix 2) Blood of a Phoenix by Shannon Mayer

My thoughts on Review spoilers, and ratings may be relevant before you venture below --- the spoiler line ---. Click the [Back] button there to return here if you take a look. Review 1000 ± words

My Rating: Read on...

I have no recommendation on this UNRATED fantasy/quest. To be fair, I've enjoyed Nix 1 and 2. When I finished Nix 2 I felt like I may have finished the middle of a story.

There's nothing easy about writing a middle of a story. Selling it as a book isn't what I'd do if I was trying to grow a fan base. In the middle of a story things happen leading to the climax and end of the story. More is revealed. As the middle of a story, it was good. I enjoyed it. Writing the Nix reviews has been one of the hardest writing related things I've done in decades.

I have learned there is a Nix 4, and 5. Truth is, I've finished Nix 3. I think that's where I'll make my stand.

Generally:             --- the spoiler line ---
Phoenix has learned her son is alive. In the beginning of the story, Fury of a Phoenix, Phoenix believed her husband, Justin, and son, Bear, died in a murder staged as an automobile accident. The rest of the beginning of this story, the entire first book of the Nix series, is a cross of mamma bear wanting to kill the lion who killed her cub, or "She-Rambo", heavy on action, weak on plot, centered on a character who seems difficult to relate to, at best.

Don't misunderstand. I'm there with the average 4.5+ star folks until the ability to suspend disbelief overcomes me. What's thin in Nix 1, stays thin in Nix 2. The redemption of entertainment value is in part due to new characters and the intro of some of Bear's point of view. The new twists don't entirely carry it.

Likes and Dislikes:
I'm an action junkie, and this series does not lack action. I could even add there's a degree of psychological suspense worth mentioning.

Since most of the book is from Phoenix's point of view, and since she seems to believe everyone is going to betray her, she doesn't attach well to other characters. They are there. As a reader, since she doesn't attach, you don't know if they'll be there in the next chapter. You don't attach. You're interest wanes instead of waxing.

What has me stuck with this series, is I'm not a believer. There's more than a little that doesn't ring true. That's death in fiction, to lose the reader's suspension of disbelief.

The Technical:             A writing critique?
Sometimes the "co-protagonists" are "co-protagonists", sometimes they are co-antagonists. I suppose that's part of "suspense". Since I'm already finding the motivation weak, but possibly improving, this just drives me towards indifference about all of it.

Conclusion:
I know I'm bucking the popular opinion on this series. Shannon is a rising star in this genre. I would recommend you start with something other than the Nix series. If that works for you, the love of her work will likely carry you through this series without concern.

Before starting this series, I purchased pretty much everything by Shannon. Nix sounded similar to something I recently finished that I liked, so that's where I wanted to start with her work.

I finished Nix 3 before writing the final draft of this review. Prior to finishing this book, Nix 2, I had the misguided impression this would conclude as a trilogy. When I learned there would be books beyond Nix 3, I nearly decided I didn't need to finish Nix 3.

I studied writing and somehow developed the apparent misguided perception that a book contains a story, complete with beginning, middle, and end. I'ts a "story". These books are stopping, they're chapter breaks in a serial series of story parts. This isn't uncommon these days, but I don't particularly like Phoenix, the protagonist. Today, I'm not liking Phoenix enough to do 4 & 5 (which I haven't purchased). I did purchase a lot of Shannon's books. We will see what Nix 3 has to offer and go from there.

Revision: After writing this review... I re-read the last two chapters. Exciting! I'm still at neutral, leaning towards recommendation.

I don't mind being a monster in a critique. Author's actually need that from a professional critique, but this is a review. I don't like to be "mean" arbitrarily. This genre is ripe with story parts parading as books. I don't like it. I'm old school, where a writer needed a way to keep track of what manuscript was waiting rejection from which publisher. Self publishing was way beyond anything an average person could afford and the hope of breaking even financially had ridiculously bad odds. Even A list authors were reluctant to do an unabridged audiobook.

I am grateful to authors like Shannon, who work hard and are very prolific, publishing several books a year. Believe it or not, there was a time when prolific writers were forced to write with nom-de-plumes in order to avoid being shunned for actually writing good books regularly. I'm glad those days are gone. But like all good things, there are unintended consequences, like serial story parts being published in multiple formats dressed up like books.

When these parts were sold for $2, and the audiobook for $2, it was a good deal. Today, authors like Shannon can ask much more for the same "parts". While this is generally good overall, anyone on a budget must ignore indies and mid level authors in order to get great value for their limited reading budget. To be fair to those people, myself among them, I can't recommend... even when I'm enjoying a series but not to the point where I have to weigh my "book" budget into the mix.

Read on: Apr 24, 25, & 26, 2021
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Written by: Shannon Mayer
Read by: Khristine Hvam
Buy at: Nix 2 Retailers
📚 Format(s): E-book & Audiobook 29 Chapters, 352 Print pages
Audiobook Runtime: 11:17:50